Schlafwandler

Sleepwalkers (1992)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

When this film was released there was a lot of hype because it was the first time Stephen King had written something directly for the screen. The hype quickly faded when everyone realized that it was a dud. A son and mom (Brian Krause, Alice Krige) move to a small town where they need a virgin (Madchen Amick) to keep alive. It turns out the duo are "sleepwalkers," which is a form of cat people. The entire story to SLEEPWALKERS is rather stupid and silly and I often wonder if King or director Mick Garris were taking it overly serious. I've heard that there was a lot of trouble with the production so perhaps this is the best that they could turn out but there are so many questionable and rather silly moments here that you can't help but call this a dud. The horror elements are extremely silly, never make too much sense and I wonder what King was even trying to do with this. I mean, were these creatures supposed to be something between werewolves and vampires? Did the son and mom have to have so many sex scenes together? Was this meant to be dark humor? For some strange reason when the son does start to attack the virgin girl, instead of any drama or suspense we're given really bad one-liners and attempts at humor and it just doesn't make any sense. I say no one took it serious because this is followed by a long line of horror cameos including King, Tobe Hooper, Joe Dante, John Landis, Clive Barker and Friday THE 13TH PART 2 fans will notice Stuart Charno. Both Krause and Krige are good in their parts but Amick easily steals the film as the victim. SLEEPWALKERS is a real mess of a movie and it's a shame that King's first direct screenplay was such a bust.

An incestuous mother and son (Krige, Krause) of preternatural origin move to a small town to find a young female virgin (Amick) the son may take the life force of and feed the mother with.

It's Stephen King, who wrote the screenplay, at his not bad best. Interesting music; I've never heard Enya in a horror movie before but surprisingly it works. As with Ron Perlman, I'd pretty much sit through anything with Alice Krige in it.

The down side is that although the mother and son are interesting beings the curiosity about them the movie arouses is not satisfied. What are they? A kind of feline lineage is hinted at as they can morph into variations of cat like creatures yet cats are their mortal enemies (a scratch can be fatal). Where are they from? Egypt is hinted at (the origin of the worship of Bast, perhaps). Why are they called Sleepwalkers (origins of the incubus/succubus/vampire mythologies)?

Despite the questions raised and unanswered the film is still an enjoyable gore-fest horror break from reality.

Worth a rent/buy used, especially for fans of Stephen King's work.

Brian Krause ('Charmed') and Alice Krige ("Star Trek: First Contact") play a son-and-mother pair, the title creatures who are vaguely feline in origin. They live a nomadic existence, moving from town to town and obtaining sustenance from the life force of teenage virgins. Their one weakness? Cats. Apparently any substantial scratch from a cat is enough to kill a Sleepwalker. Trouble arises for Krause and Krige when their current intended victim (Madchen Amick, 'Twin Peaks') turns out to be a real fighter.

Don't take this screen original from Stephen King seriously - at all - and it's possible to have a generous amount of fun, as I did. It's positively goofy stuff, with some incredibly groan-inducing moments, but since most of the laughs do seem to be intentional, I was able to forgive this sort of thing. It's pretty predictable, to be sure, with most of the adult characters or authority figures proving to be completely useless. The visual effects by Apogee are pretty good, and Tony Gardners' Alterian Studios supplies some decent-looking monsters. Another bonus: "Sparks", the cat who plays Clovis, is every bit as appealing as human protagonist Amick.

A solid assortment of familiar faces helps matters: real-life former couple Cindy Pickett and Lyman Ward, who'd played Matthew Brodericks' parents in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", as Tanyas' folks, Ron "Hellboy" Perlman as a moronic state trooper, Jim Haynie ("The Bridges of Madison County") as the sheriff, Rusty Schwimmer ("Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday") as a housewife, Stuart Charno ("Friday the 13th Part 2") as a crime scene photographer, and the late Tim Burton favorite Glenn Shadix ("Beetlejuice") as a creepy teacher. There's also a handful of quick cameos from genre icons, and Mark Hamill appears unbilled in the opening pre-credits sequence.

I would tend to agree that BY NO MEANS would this ever be considered a "great" film, but it provides ample entertainment for horror fans. It does make great use of Enyas' haunting song "Boadicea".

Seven out of 10.

There's something about the b-grade sleeper "Sleepwalkers" that keeps me from liking it, but not enough to entirely hate it either. It kept me entertained, but I wasn't all that satisfied. Director Mick Garris' handling might come off stagy (which took any sense of atmosphere) with an almost TV-like feel, but remains crisp and well paced in its actions. Some imagery shows moments of creativity with the illustrative camera-work with its scopes and tilts. I just wished it had been much more darker in its visual styling. Stephen King would adapt his own book, where the premise creates a wickedly novel concept that would turn upon its sly tone with nonsensical and over-the-top dramatic lashings. This goes for its outrageous, if clumsy climax. While the jolts are grisly, they do come off quite risible with it being punctuated by sadistic heavy-handedness. The eccentric make-up FX is decently pulled off, even with some cheesy and blotchy trimmings. The script is rather ill-defined, but still has a neat touch of morbid humour and a sexual charge thanks to the seductively deranged performances by Alice Krige and Brian Krause in their mother and son relationship. Mädchen Amick is suitably appealing in the victim role. Ron Perlman makes a short, but commanding turn. Also keep a look out for some amusingly interesting cameos by Stephen King, Tobe Hooper, John Dante, John Landis, Clive Baker and Mark Hamill.

Director Mick Garris has commented on how "Sleepwalkers" was a troubled production, and one only has to watch in disbelief to see what he means. Before its 1992 theatrical release, I remember the film being heavily hyped as Stephen King's first foray into cinema with a completely original screenplay (and as was true with most adaptations of his work--with or without his involvement--at the time, the reviews were less than sympathetic). Ironically, Garris would become better known for helming TV-miniseries versions of some of King's best-known works ("The Stand"; "The Shining"; "Desperation"), directing right from the author's own scripts. Needless to say, these made-for-TV works outshine "Sleepwalkers," which simply further proves that King's writing style (heavy with internal dialogues and detailed, unspoken perceptions) is better suited to a format that can fully develop his themes and characters. This tale of an incestuous mother/son duo who shapeshifts into bloodthirsty felines, roaming from small towns to dine on virgin prey, is fairly decent for the first 50 minutes--King's use of 'local color' (and the resulting humor) is well-rendered, and Garris does a fine job of creating an atmosphere of mystery and intrigue. But just when "Sleepwalkers" seems headed for the zone of good (if not truly memorable) King adaptations, its final third devolves into overblown, ridiculous action sequences (as though the producers chopped away 30 pages of King's script for explosions and shootouts) and a queasy imbalance between absurd humor and sentimental melodrama. The end result hobbles the overall experience--had King's ideas been thoroughly fleshed-out, "Sleepwalkers" may have been a solid entry in his filmography...but as it stands, it feels like a lament over what could have been. The cats are incredibly cute, though.