No tengo sueño

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!

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.

"Sleepless" ("Non ho sonno") is an Italian giallo film directed by Dario Argento, whose '90s films weren't that representative. This one, was released in 2001 and many believed that the beloved director returned with a more fair film. I also identify this opinion. The reasons will be mentioned.

Let's start by the plot. The film is about a retired detective and a young man who had a close relationship with one of the victims of a murderer who hit Italy, after 17 years of absence. The two of them are trying to solve the case and to unravel the mystery veil in general.

As for the plot, it sounds very simple, classic and safe for this particular subgenre (giallo). I partly agree, but I think if you go into the process of watching this film, it'll be quite interesting. It's not flawless in any way, but it's dignified and the beloved subgenre was shortly revived.

PROS:

* Charming protagonist. Nice choice.

* Decent direction by the master Dario Argento.

* While the photography doesn't resemble heavily a giallo film, just because we are used to it quite stylistically, aesthetically, with vivid and vibrant colors. This film, is more "realistic" in these parts, making it more accessible. Personally, I prefer the classic stylistic version of giallo films, without saying that I didn't enjoyed the film the way it was. So it's not a flaw, I just expressed my personal preference.

* I think that the selection of the cast was quiet good (I'll explain the in the "CONS" sectiom why I use the word "think").

* Catchy, simple and straightforward classic giallo plot.

* I would say that the violence in this film is quite high. The presence of blood is frequent and clear. The kills are brutal, not as creative as we are used to in other Argento films, but decent. But they definitely correspond to giallo films. All the stalking scenes shortly before the murder were creepy and scary. There were no annoying jumpscares.

CONS:

* One of the things I write about, in all my reviews on giallo films is the dubbing. I can't figure out why you get some foreign actors and turn the whole movie into English and then dub it with (lots of) miserable voices that disorient you. Hire some Italian actors and turn your movie into Italian. Don't make it harder. I would definitely prefer it. The Italian language is wonderful and I am sure this country has many great actors. As far as I know, most of Argento's films, all of which are now considered classic and superb, at the time of their release, they were quite controversial, because of the violence they represented and were not screened for long. So, if he had hired foreign actors to make his films more successful and saw that it has never worked, why did he keep doing this? It would be more honorable, if he would made his films in his mother tongue.

* I personally suspected who the killer was pretty soon, without being 100% sure, so I think they could have hidden it better.

* The character of 'Gloria' was so unnecessary. They probably added her just to be exisiting a romantic interest for the protagonist. Something extra. There's no other reason. At least let her do something. She was not even a suspect.

Neutrals:

* The film is not so authentic, as I personally found some parts, that resemble the film "Profondo Rosso" (1975), if you watch it, you will find it yourself.

* An inspector has the surname "Manny". Not coincidentally, as in an earlier Argento film, "Tenebre" (1982), the first victim is named 'Elsa Manny'.

Generally, the film is very enjoyable to watch. I don't think fans of this subgenre will be disappointed, especially Dario Argento's fans, since it was a very dynamic return.

I recommend it!

In 1983 a serial killer nicknamed the Dwarf embarks of a murderous spree. The detective in charge Moretti (played by legendary Max von Sydow) manages to connects the dots to a mystery novelist Vincenzo de Fabritiis, only for the suspect to die before capture. Almost twenty years later a prostitute by freak accident stumbles upon memorabilia of past murders, whilst leaving a clients house. Before she can pass on the mementos to anyone else she is brutally murdered. Soon after murders surprisingly similar to the 1983 case occur and detective Moretti is called back in to assist...

After over a decade of lingering in the disembowelled remains of his legend Dario Argento returns by resurrecting his giallo cookbook. And make no mistake - Argento does not attempt in the slightest to modernise the genre, instead he follows his own former path of glory making sure the recipe is repeated. This also signals a welcome return of The Goblins and their always hauntingly suitable score. The requisite ingredient of long marauding shots, which follow the blood, murder and atmosphere, is obviously also present. One especially well-done fist-clenching sequence has the camera follow a red (what? you expected any other colour from Dario?) carpet with the unmistakable relentless accompaniment of The Goblins straight to a morbid beheading.

That said Argento seems to have dropped his obsession with coloured lenses and does not seem to attach the same fervorous attention to set-pieces. Unfortunately this does seem to take away some of the Argento magic and can not help but feel the superiority of the 70s giallo. Even more so, that the formulaic repetitiveness of Argento causes "Sleepless" to become all to similar to what the master has already offered us in the past. The script has the feel of being a collage of several other Argento giallo flicks. Nonetheless the movie features surprisingly crisp acting for an Argento movie, even though some of the characters seem unnecessarily overcooked.

There are several other smaller flaws to "Sleepless", as the movie drags on even more than we are used to from the Italian, the dialogue can be ridiculous at times (Moretti dumbfoundedly asks "Who is that? Is this a joke?" after hearing someone break his window), whilst some of the plotting is absurdly unlikely to say the least (i.e. a witness decides to return a gold pen to the serial killer in exchange for money, instead of handing in the evidence to the police).

This movie also has a touch of Argento's self-commentary to it in the shape of Moretti, a detective used to the old ways of solving crime. Now the methods have changed, but Moretti has struggled to adapt, still preferring the traditional art of deduction. One can't help but feel that this is Argento's personal explanation as to his persistent drop in status during the 90s.

Nonetheless a nice movie that shows that Dario Argento still has some spark left in him. Whether or not he will be able to tap into this source to make a spectacular comeback to the limelight remains however to be seen.

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!!