Il sonnambulo

I just saw the trailer about this movie, and i rented it yesterday. and i got to say...if you havent seen it, go see it. its a very genial and exciting thriller on a theme and thought i never seen a movie has been about. the main thought is that a guy is going in his sleep and he thinks he murderes in his sleep whitout knowing it when he is awake.

very good movie.

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!

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.

"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

Simple, yet effective Swedish horror/thriller-movie. Ulrik Hansson is 45 years old and lives a secure life in a Swedish residential district together with his wife Monika and their two children. He's got a well-paid job as an architect and builds a new detached house which the family will move to. Everything is just great. He thinks. One morning he wakes up and shockingly discovers that they're gone. The whole family...And he is covered with blood. Did he do it? And does his persistent sleepwalking got anything to do with it? Although the story has been touched some times before in movie-land, this idea feels refreshing and although it's not crafted in the best ways (mainly due to some poor acting), it still bids for an exciting ninety minutes. The ending is a bit cheezy, but hey, many movies are.