Sleepwalker

This is definitely one of the best Swedish horror films of the recent years. (Not that there are that many)I found it quite scary actually from time to time, and I was hooked as soon as the film started. Being the horror freak that I am, I was surprised to find out I actually could be scared by ANY movie, so I was almost religious at the end of this. It is so thrilling and exciting it won't let you breath until it's over! The actors were all great, and the whole style of the film the director has given it is stunning! The music also adds to the atmosphere in the most genius ways. I love this movie!

Swedish horror is one of those tragic genres that never seems to hit the target. Sometimes i even wonder why they even try anymore. But once in a while, a very LONG while, a movie comes out that actually has quality to it. This is one of those.

Ulrik Hansson (Ralph Carlsson) has trouble sleeping. One night he mixes his sleeping-pills with red wine. When he wakes up his family is gone without a trace, except a huge spot of blood on the sheets. Things point toward him being a sleepwalker and that this might have something to do with his family disappearing. Did he murder his family? The idea in this movie i felt was fairly original without being revolutionary. The technical quality of the movie is good and many scenes are well built up. The acting is also mostly OK. So is it scary? Well sometimes it comes close anyway. The general feeling of disarray is also pretty well built up. And the plot comes with a twist in the end which might not be THAT hard to guess, but that works pretty well.

All in all this is not bad. I wish more Swedish horror movies could be like this. Focusing more on psychology and plot than on trying to create poor and boring shock-effects. I rate this 6/10.

The director succeeds at building a murky atmosphere ,probably influenced by David Lynch,particularly " lost highway" and the amateur side of "Blair witch project" .There are very few sleepwalkers in the fantastic cinema and focusing a story on such a character is original.The weakest link is the screenplay which falls apart at every nail ,which the final unexpected twist can hardly redeem ,even if it's repeated twice (the second time,an innovation,in the middle of the final cast and credits).Nothing more than a curio.

"Sleepwalker" was marketed in Sweden for almost a year with taglines like: "The year´s scariest film takes place in Sweden" and such. When the result finally arrived, "Sleepwalker" feels a bit disappointing and not as scary as promised. But look beneath the hype, and you will discover a surprisingly good Swedish horror movie.

The movie asks the interesting question: "Can we murder people in our sleep?" If the question is answered or not I will leave untold, but I promise that you will be surprised with the film´s content.

The story takes place in a common residential district when family man Ulrik Hansson goes to sleep with his family. When he wakes up, his wife and kids are gone. And the sheets in his bed are covered in blood. He contacts the police, but also tries to solve the case himself. He has had problems with sleepwalking earlier, and now he suspects that he might be responsible for the disappearances.

"Sleepwalker" contains many interesting scenes, especially those when Ulrik straps on a camcorder to his head, then goes to sleep. Later Ulrik watches the tape and sees what he actually does when he´s sleepwalking. This is definitely the film´s strongest moments, together with the suggestive environments, the editing and the scary music.

The movie has weaknesses, and the screenwriter should be held somewhat responsible. The script contains lots of illogical turns, and the film´s formula tends to be a bit repetitive. The acting is doubtful, but leading man Ralph Carlsson does a good job as Ulrik.

Many arguments after the film will definitely be about the ending. I thought it was excellent, and it actually lifted the whole movie. This is the best Swedish horror movie ever, after "Det Okända", which was released the same year.

3/5

So this is the kind of movie that gets financial support from the

Swedish Film Institute. It´s a quite good idea completely wasted.

The dialogue and acting is for the most part beyond bad. The

directing is terrible, unexciting. With a couple of more rewrites and

a good director, this might have turned out allright. And why does

most of the Swedish movies look so ugly nowadays? Faded

colours and unrealistic, overstaged lighting, especially in night

scenes, don´t we have any good craftmanship in the movie

business anymore? The music is terrible, repetitious and

annoying. And some takes are completely out of sync, very

embarrassing. The ending is completely destroyed by an added

on sequence which insults the intelligence of the audience. Not

recommended, other than as a example of how not to make a

thriller.