Non ho sonno

Sleepless might be Dario Argento's last truly good movie. It's far from perfect and never quite reaches the stylistic heights of his 70's and 80's work, but it's a somewhat smart re-imagining of the giallo film with enough gory set pieces to keep the gorehounds satisfied and just enough twists and turns to keep the mystery fans on their toes.

Max Von Sydow plays an aging detective brought back into a murder case 20 years later when it appears that the murderer has returned to continue their killing spree. He's joined by the son of one of the victims and, together, they team up to figure out who's behind all this mayhem.

Sleepless has its high points - the opening train sequence might be one of Argento's best and all the murder set pieces are inventive and filled with shockingly good effects that are sure to make you cringe. Also, Goblin has reunited to give us one of their most effective scores that helps the film tremendously.

There are pacing issues in the middle section of the film and the two young leads aren't as well written or interesting as one would like which makes many of their scenes drag and feel like work to get through. It's no slight to the actors, because I don't think it's their fault at all. The murder mystery is at least interesting and the killer's reveal is at least a genuine surprise.

Sleepless won't be classified by anyone as top tier Argento, but it's one of his best post-80's works.

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!

A retired detective gets involved on a case which he was in charge of 17 years ago, about a grisly killer known as 'the dwarf' that killed people in a small part of town and now it's happening again, though this time his working with a son of one of the original victims. 'The dwarf ' was found dead after those murders 17 years ago… so could it be him from beyond the grave or a copycat?

This a pretty decent murder/mystery film by Dario Argento, I wasn't expecting much- but what I saw it was above average. With his usual flair of over the top blood and gore, stunning photography, the soundtrack by 'Goblin' really gives it an added boost and the usual unexpected twists and turns, make this film worth a look after his earlier disappointments.

It has a superb opening half-an hour of terror that is truly haunting and eerie. Though It does sag a bit in the middle of the film, losing a bit of the steam and the menacing atmosphere fizzles out- though that's when we start to learn more about the story, with clues coming thick and fast and then it picks up in the upbeat and unpredictable last half hour, where the final twist will have you on the edge of your seat with disbelief. What I liked was that the killer uses nursery rhymes from a specific book to pick their next victim, which I thought was pretty ingenious and disturbing, especially since the victims have something to associate them with the animals in the nursery rhymes.

Though the plot might have certain flaws, one being it's one -dimensional characters and secondly at times it was pretty convenient that the killer was at the right place at the right time- but otherwise it makes up for it with it's swift and creative deaths: that truly come out of left field… you cant go wrong with that opening scene on the train and at the station, with the hysteria and tension of isolation that builds up throughout that scene.

Though the death scenes might turn off certain viewers- but not if your fan of Argento, as a lot of detail goes into them and so did the setting of the film- it was beautifully shot. The performances are below average; they were kind of lacklustre or either over the top, though with the exception of Max Von Sydow, who brings a lot of class as the retired detective.

An entertaining Giallo film!

3/5

I must admit that have seen all Dario Argento's films and the last 3 ones were very disappointing. Being his fan I could not miss his last effort specially when I noticed that the myths since the time of "Profondo Rosso": The Goblin, were performing the soundtrack.

Dario Argento is back to the old typical thriller structure: a serial killer with a nonsense-rhyme for kids is the leitmotiv of all the homicides in a very wet and scary Turin.

The characters are well performed specially by the "bergmanian" Max Von Sidow. Chiara Caselli and Stefano Dionisi are fine and the first 20 minutes of film are an example of very high level cinema -the scenes shot in the train are icing- The soundtrack is less electronic than in the past with some elements of heavy metal.

Rating: 5/10