Review: Don't Go to Sleep (1982)
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-insOr7JWk-g/Tr25RCmFcYI/AAAAAAAAcJY/YYzpOO-6jxM/s1600/PDVD_029.BMP Haunted house movies can be extremely creepy and atmospheric when done right, the tension builds and builds, they grab you and don't let you go. They need to be precisely and brilliantly choreographed. They can also be a hell of a lot of fun.
Don't Go to Sleep has all this in abundance. This lesser known TV horror classic made such an impression on me that still remember it as if I watching it right now. What
Don't Go to Sleep is, is a quintessential made-for-TV horror movie from the eighties, that is surprisingly creepy and genuinely terrifying that possesses a thick atmosphere that you could almost drown in. There was some great TV movies made during the 1970's, and on the face of it, it would seem that that tradition carried on, at least, through the eighties.
Don't Go to Sleep is an astonishingly creepy made-for-television film, and one of the best made for television horror films that I've ever seen.
The plot centres on an all-American family who a year previously were in a car accident as the father, Phillip (played by Dennis Weaver), was driving under the influence. The oldest daughter, Jennifer (played by Kristen Cumming), unfortunately gets killed due to a terrible prank gone wrong, played on her by her younger siblings. The family decide to move in with their grandmother, Bernice (played by Ruth Gordon) so they can care for her. It is in this house, where the younger daughter begins hearing things and experiences strange events. She seeks revenge on her family by using her sister as a medium for her diabolical revenge on her family. She carries out her revenge - by wiping out the members of her own family, one by one, in the most horrific of ways. There are some genuinely effective creepy scenes: like the creepy scene involving the younger sister, while sinisterly running the pizza cutter along the banister of the stairs about to attack her mother with it, who is upstairs, was truly scary. The ending to the film is quite possibly is the most terrifying ending to any film I have ever seen. While her mother is sleeping, Jennifer appears in front of her bed with an evil knowing grin on her face. When her mother screams, the movie abruptly ends. Try watching that before you go to bed!
Although restrained in terms of budget - which most TV movies are), the plot is the main theme which really makes this film very creepy and scary. Ruth Gordon, Dennis Weaver and Valerie Harper give great real performances, all too real performances at times. The story is tightly written, which builds a nice atmosphere to a chilling climax which will leave the viewer sitting on the edge of their seat.
Don't Go to Sleep pulls no punches with suspense and shocks, but it never resorts to outlandish and pointless gore to get its point across, but instead it relies on old-fashioned suspense, which is refreshing to behold. It is up their with
Burnt Offerings and its ilk for a slow burner haunted house chiller. If you have the chance to see it, see it. I rate it a 9.
Myths do not die, they just get transformed. Today I talk about The Addiction. And so ends this most interesting film, vampirism is transplanted to a harsh modern urban setting as a metaphor for addiction, religion and redemption. The vampire legend, that is so rich in metaphor and symbolism, has never been treated with such intellectual depth and bitting social criticism. The modern vampire subgenre in my opinion works best in real harsh urban environments, with limited action scenes, that relies more on existentialism. I feel vampire movies are dime a dozen and offer little in the way of originality and imagination so it is always refreshing to me to see a vampire flick that attempts to bring new ideas into the exhausted sub-genre. The Addiction has all this and more!
Kathleen Conklin (played by Lili Taylor), a New York University grad student, is bitten one night by a female vampire (Annabella Sciorra), from there she emerges with a new found pessimistic views of society and the world, from which she drew from her years as a philosophy student. She has this uncontrollable and insatiable craving for human blood - an addiction. Cinematographed in glorious black-and-white and the brilliant use of New York City gives it some resemblances to Taxi Driver - that wonderful grittiness, that inner turmoil, but as a vampire film. The scenes of the murders, such as the party for the grad school committee is pretty unsettling because the film appears so realistic. It doesn't rely on too much gore or special effects, which just proves that great storytelling is not reliant on special effects.
The wonderful black-and-white cinematography really added to the brooding and gritty tone, as did the excellent performance by Lili Taylor, who gives an absorbing performance as the brooding, articulate and haunting grad student turned vampire, Kathleen Conklin. Christopher Walken is excellent as usual as the wise and weary vampire-cum-mentor. Nicholas St. John is responsible for concocting one of the most orginal screenplays on vampirism in the last 30 years. Abel Ferrara is the conductor who is accountable for bringing us this unusual vampire tale where it is rare for philosophy and horror to collide but they collide to great effect. Ken Kelsch's gorgeous black and white photography is is a key element in the plot and is worth applauding. Also, there is great use of Cypress Hill's "I Wanna Get High", which is heard a few times during the film .
John Klein (played by Richard Gere) is a Washington Post reporter who loses the love of his life, Mary (played by Debra Messing). Two years have passed since her death and he is still trying to come to terms with the loss of his wife. He is drawn to the sleepy town of Point Pleasant where the residents are plagued by strange sightings and events that have cursed them for the better part of a year which builds to the distressing climax. This is a slow atmospheric moody movie. The film is like a melting pot of different genres, from drama to mystery to thriller to horror. Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Will Patton and Debra Messing put in strong performances here. The whole film feels like an episode of The X-Files and why wouldn't it? This is the kind of stories that made The X-Files so popular. It stands out from the crowd in that it offers something different to the horror goer, more profound and existential.
It really is a well made film with excellent cinematography and special effects. The sound, feel and touch of the film is eerie and spellbinding. It has many 'spine-tingler' moments that will keep the most demanding horror goer on the edge-of-their-seat. It is a beast of a movie. I guess the reason it is so misunderstood is that they want a conclusion, something to tie up with a little bow and bury in the backyard but that doesn't always have to be, in fact, what you don't understand is often more terrifying.