La Nuit déchirée

SLEEPWALKERS starts out promisingly enough to be a creepy tale about a mother and son vampire team--needlessly involved in an incestuous relationship--played by BRIAN KRAUSE and ALICE KRIGE. These two handle their roles extremely well and the creepy atmosphere of the story makes you believe you're in for a good Stephen King thriller about a small town about to be devastated by vampires seeking nourishment.

There's even a pretty girl (MADCHEN AMICK) who flirts with the new boy in town, first at the movie theater where she works and then at high school--and these three characters carry the first part of the film nicely. You start to wonder whether the girl is going to be an easy victim of the mother and son team or whether she'll fight them off.

But as the plot thickens, so does the absurdity of the whole thing, all directed in comic book style so that none of the characters have any dimension beyond being puppets in a horror story that is so grotesque and over-the-top, particularly in the last half-hour, that you'll wonder whether a sane hand had any part in these proceedings. All of the business involving a menagerie of cats that sit on the couple's front lawn becomes laughable before the story uses them in a way that lacks any credibility at all.

To be fair, there are some scenes that do hold the interest, usually because a quirky supporting character, such as the black cop with his trusty traveling companion Clovis (a cat), provides some much needed humor--but those moments are few and far between. And any attempt to provide humor by having Stephen King play an obnoxious local man seeking help from a sheriff, fails utterly to do anything but convince the viewer that King should leave bit roles to professionals.

Whatever potential it had as a thriller is diminished by the outlandish ending which has Alice Krige losing her marbles completely. She hasn't had an eerier role since she played the girl who came back to life to haunt men in GHOST STORY ('82). But as good as she is, she can't save a trashy horror film from looking absurd.

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.

this Stephen King adaptation was entertaining but not great,by any means.it's worthwhile to pass time.it''s probably as weird as any of the King adaptation i have,and even weirder than others.this movie sort of felt like a fairy tale to me.although not a kid's fable,obviously.i did like the cast,many of whom have gone on to other things,since then.Brian Krause also appeared in the TV show Charmed,Madchen Amick (who could be Kim Delaney's twin sister)has been in several smaller budget pictures.Alice Krige was seen most notably as the Borg Queen in Star Trek:First Contact,while Ron Perlman was previously seen in The TV series beauty and the Beast.his most notable role(In my opinion)was in Hellboy as the title character.like in most King movies,king himself appears in a cameo.at least three other modern horror masters(Jon Landis,Joe Dante,and Clive Barker also have cameos.anyway if you wanna pass 90 minutes or so,i'd say this movie is worth it.for me,Sleepwalkers is a 6/10

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.

Sleepwalkers is no masterpiece, but it is a fun, well-put together little B horror flick. The acting is solid, the practical make up effects are effective and not overly cheesy and the pacing allows the movie to zip right along. Horror buffs will love the cameos as well. Kitty cats rule!