No tengo sueño

Having reviewed the brilliant Giallo "Profondo Rosso" last week I just checked out Dario Argento´s latest film "Non ho sonno". In comparison to the above mentioned classic, "Sleepless" is much straighter and more fast-paced. There are more bloody murders (A prostitutes fingers were cut off, a man gets stabbed by a fountain pen...), however the photography seemed to be not as elegant as it was in "Profondo Rosso". I´m really no Argento-expert but I think this was a good thriller with a well-developed story and lots of suspense. Even a few humorous scenes were brought on like the take when some Lilliputians have to wait for their interrogation at the police department. Main actor Max von Sydow ("Dune", "The Exorcist") is great in the lead, but also most of the supporting actors like Stefano Dionisi or Chiara Caselli are doing solid jobs! I´d give this film 8 out of 10, just for being really good Giallo-entertainment!!

Dario Argento is one of my personal favorite directors, and many of my fellow Horror buffs will agree that the man is one of the all-time Horror greats. Films like "Suspiria" (1977), "Profondo Rosso" (1975) and Phenomena (1985) range among my all-time favorites, and Argento's repertoire includes several other masterpieces of Italian Horror/Giallo, such as "The Bird With The Crystal Plumage" (1970), "Opera"(1987) or "Tenebre"(1982). After several inferior films that he made in the 1990s, such as the decent "Trauma" of 1993 and "Two Evil Eyes" (which he made with fellow Horror-deity George A. Romero in 1990) and the disappointing "Phantom of the Opera", the master returned to his old style - and old greatness - with this "Non Ho Sonno" aka "Sleepless", a tantalizing and ultra-violent Giallo, in 2001. The good-old Giallo premise is still working greatly, and the fact that Argento borrows many elements from his older films does in no way downsize the greatness of "Sleepless". On the contrary, this is the absolute proof for us Italian Horror buffs that great Gialli can still be made in the 21st century.

In 1983, young Giacomo has to witness the brutal murder of his mother, who is one of the many victims of a Turin murder series. 17 years later, Turin is struck by a murder-series again, and the horrid crimes seem to resemble those from 1983. Even though he has spent the last 17 years trying to forget, Giacomo (Stefano Dionisi), who has since moved to Rome, decides to come back to Turin. Since the police make little progress, Giacomo and the retired homicide detective Ulisse Moretti (Max Von Sydow), who was working on the cases in 1983, begin to investigate themselves...

"Sleepless" brings the old-fashioned Giallo-greatness that we're used to from Argento. A creepy atmosphere, stunning suspense, ultra-bloody murders, an excellent cinematography and especially another ingenious score by Progressive Rock band Goblin - this film delivers all the great elements that we love Argento for. Argento has once stated that this is the most brutal of all his films which is not exactly true. The violence and gore are extreme, no doubt, but films like "Tenebre", "Phenomena" or "Opera" are at least equally violent, if not more. Dario Argento is not exactly known for his tameness when it comes to violence, and this is yet another (immensely stylishly) ultra-brutal Argento experience. As I stated above, Argento uses some elements he has used in his older films - but he does so in an great manner. Elements like a creepy nursery-rhyme are downright ingenious and give this the tantalizing and superb atmosphere that is typical for Argento. An absolute must-see for Horror fans, especially my fellow Argento-enthusiasts can not allow themselves to miss this! Great!

Sleepless (2001) finds director Dario Argento at his self-referential best; producing a film that seems like a veritable greatest hits package of his more recognisable trademarks and preoccupations, including the revelation of a traumatic childhood event, the reliance on the juxtaposition between an older, more seasoned character and his young protégé turned amateur sleuths, the foregrounding of a burgeoning love affair and the always prevalent notions of sight and perception. It taps into the territory of his earlier films perfectly, with the depiction of a black-gloved serial killer prowling the night and killing to the rules of a bizarre children's storybook that is rife with reminisces to Argento's earliest masterpiece, Deep Red (1975). Admittedly, it could be argued that the film falls apart a little towards the end, but for the most part Sleepless is a fantastic thriller, and easily Argento's best film since Opera (1987) more than a decade before.

It was touted at the time as the director's return to his more traditional Giallo roots of films like The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970), Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1974) and Tenebrae (1982); though I'm sure some would still argue that it doesn't quite achieve the creative highs of those particular films, with the occasional flaws - many of which Argento fans will have come to know and love - marring the film in the second half. However, I think even the most vocal critics would be able to see it as a self-conscious effort on the part of the filmmaker to create a film with a writhing and endlessly fascinating plot, some bold visual compositions and scenarios that recall the greatness of his earlier work, and of course, lashings of gratuitous violence. The presentation might be a little more cutting-edge, with the modern-day, 21st century streets of Rome and contemporary attitudes of its characters further fuelling the plot; however, the structure of the film, the relationships between the characters and the fantastic way that Argento builds tension and dread is right out of his "animal trilogy" of the 1970's.

The murder scenes are as inventive as ever, filled with those trademark POV shots and plenty of bravura, with the cinematography of Ronnie Taylor thankfully being closer to his work on Opera (1987) rather than The Phantom of the Opera (1998). The opening scene itself is one of the greatest things that Argento has ever directed, skilfully establishing the back-story of the killer and his particular Modus operandi as he stalks a terrified prostitute through a passenger train and out onto the empty, nocturnal train station, in a manner that recalls the opening sequences of that perennial favourite Suspiria (1977). The grandiose scenes of stalk and slash terror is to be expected from Argento, especially with the memory of his earlier films still in mind, however, what really sets Sleepless apart from his more recent works, like The Stendhal Syndrome (1996) and The Card Player (2005), is the compelling performance from a genuine acting legend; in this instance, the ever-brilliant Max Von Sydow.

Von Sydow plays Ulisse Moretti, a now retired police detective still obsessing over a shocking murder case that took place eighteen years earlier. As fate conspires to throw Moretti together with Giacomo, the son of the original victim, the two men decide to re-investigate the case in light of recent murders that seem to point to the same killer, or indeed, killers. Though Stefano Dionisi as the earnest and enthusiastic Giacomo lacks the natural ability of Von Sydow (a fact not helped by his rather poor English dubbing), he still manages to carry his strands of the narrative fairly well, while the scenes between their two particular characters resonate with the same kind of mutual respect and contagious curiosity that was found between the lead characters of The Cat O' Nine Tails (1971) or even the aforementioned Deep Red. Some of the other performances aren't quite as strong, though the shadow of Von Sydow and the technical virtuosity and ace storytelling of Argento definitely make up for it; turning a film that could have easily become generic and derivative into a genuinely interesting murder mystery.

It might not be Argento's greatest film; lacking the unconventional flair and visual eccentricity of Deep Red or the self-reflexive experimentation and daring design of the classic Tenebrae, it does at least deliver on the basic levels of story, characters and vision. As mentioned before, the ending falls apart somewhat; certainly not to the degree of The Stendhal Syndrome or The Card Player, but enough to detract from the overall experience. It's a shame too, as the individual elements of the film are great and filled with numerous Argento touches of horror and humour. However, for this to really be considered a masterpiece it needed the kind of jaw-dropping final-act revelation of the films he made in the 70's and early 80's. Without question, Sleepless is still a great film for those in the right frame of mind and definitely something that should be appreciated by long-term Argento devotees still desperate for something that comes close to the tone of his more iconic early works.

Yes! Yes! … YES!! Dario Argento returns with the type of film that is worshiped by a select share of real horror fans. An authentic, old-fashioned Giallo! Sleepless is a solid and ultra-violent serial killer mystery with unique plot-twists and a huge amount of ingeniousness. The beautiful city of Turin is the setting of a bizarre series of murders. These killings seem to follow the modus operandi of a serial killer that was active in the same neighborhood 17 years earlier as well. The former commissioner Moretti has to dig deep in his memory and files to go after him again. He can't count on any help by the ‘new' police department and finds assistance in the now adolescent son of the killer's first victim. The pattern seems to include a nursery rime and the always-returning image of a dwarf… After a rather disappointing 90's decade with inferior films like `Phantom of the Opera' and `The Stendal Syndrome', Dario Argento now delivers his purest film since the brilliant `Opera', dated 1987. The tension is terrifically built up and the clues to solve the mystery are slowly being revealed…one by one. Sleepless is provided with a downright fantastic soundtrack by the cult-band `Goblin' and the nursery rime (which forms the pivot element throughout the whole film) literally chills the blood. As usual in this type of films, the acting isn't very good. Veteran actor Max Von Sydow more or less does a good job, but the English dubbing regretfully is dramatic. But hey, that's not Argento's fault so why criticize him? Another often heard remark is the explicit violence in Sleepless. True, several sequences are sadistically gross with heads getting smashed against a wall and a real nasty death caused by a musical instrument. If you can't stand violence, it's your loss…you don't know what you're missing. Sleepless is a film that raises new hope for the Italian horror industry and it easily ranks in the top 10 of best horror films since the new Millennium.

After about a decade of turning in less than stellar work after Opera, Dario Argento returned to the genre which made him famous in the first place and Sleepless is good enough to where there's cause for celebration. While not as ornate and interesting as his previous triumphs such as Deep Red or Tenebrae, Sleepless nevertheless has a lot to offer gialli fans.

A killer resurfaces after years of inactivity and is attacking women in Rome based on a children's nursery rhyme and the detective on the case from all those years ago (Max Von Sydow) teams up with a traumatized young man to stop him before he can murder anyone else.

Goblin returns to do the music score, which is one of their best scores in years and Argento showcases a little of the flair he brought to some of his more famous gialli films during the elaborate murder sequences which also have some excellent special effects work.

The lead performances are a bit of a letdown and the script has the tendency to drag a little bit, but it's still one of the best films Argento had made for a while up until that time.