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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.

An incestuous mother and son (Krige, Krause) of preternatural origin move to a small town to find a young female virgin (Amick) the son may take the life force of and feed the mother with.

It's Stephen King, who wrote the screenplay, at his not bad best. Interesting music; I've never heard Enya in a horror movie before but surprisingly it works. As with Ron Perlman, I'd pretty much sit through anything with Alice Krige in it.

The down side is that although the mother and son are interesting beings the curiosity about them the movie arouses is not satisfied. What are they? A kind of feline lineage is hinted at as they can morph into variations of cat like creatures yet cats are their mortal enemies (a scratch can be fatal). Where are they from? Egypt is hinted at (the origin of the worship of Bast, perhaps). Why are they called Sleepwalkers (origins of the incubus/succubus/vampire mythologies)?

Despite the questions raised and unanswered the film is still an enjoyable gore-fest horror break from reality.

Worth a rent/buy used, especially for fans of Stephen King's work.

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

There's something about the b-grade sleeper "Sleepwalkers" that keeps me from liking it, but not enough to entirely hate it either. It kept me entertained, but I wasn't all that satisfied. Director Mick Garris' handling might come off stagy (which took any sense of atmosphere) with an almost TV-like feel, but remains crisp and well paced in its actions. Some imagery shows moments of creativity with the illustrative camera-work with its scopes and tilts. I just wished it had been much more darker in its visual styling. Stephen King would adapt his own book, where the premise creates a wickedly novel concept that would turn upon its sly tone with nonsensical and over-the-top dramatic lashings. This goes for its outrageous, if clumsy climax. While the jolts are grisly, they do come off quite risible with it being punctuated by sadistic heavy-handedness. The eccentric make-up FX is decently pulled off, even with some cheesy and blotchy trimmings. The script is rather ill-defined, but still has a neat touch of morbid humour and a sexual charge thanks to the seductively deranged performances by Alice Krige and Brian Krause in their mother and son relationship. Mädchen Amick is suitably appealing in the victim role. Ron Perlman makes a short, but commanding turn. Also keep a look out for some amusingly interesting cameos by Stephen King, Tobe Hooper, John Dante, John Landis, Clive Baker and Mark Hamill.

The first of several Stephen King adaptations to be directed by Mick Garris, Sleepwalkers is dated somewhat by its (then cutting-edge) CG morphing effects of the kind seen in Michael Jackson's music video for Black and White, and later in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series. Creaky CGI trickery aside, the film is actually a whole lot of silly fun, with a daft story about a shapeshifting mother and son, Mary and Charles Brady (Alice Krige and Brian Krause), the sleepwalkers of the title, who must feed on the lifeforce of female virgins to survive.

Moving to a new town, Charles quickly sets his sights on schoolgirl Tanya (the gorgeous Mädchen Amick), but his nefarious plans are thwarted by the local cat population, who gather forces, their scratches deadly to the sleepwalkers.

Things get off to a wonderfully sordid start with a spot of incest between Charles and his mother, and the bonkers fun continues with hilarious attack by Charles on Tanya at a local graveyard make-out spot, some very silly gore (a pervy teacher loses his hand, a cop is stabbed in the ear with a pencil, Charles has his face seriously messed up, Ron Perlman gets his fingers chewed off, a guy is stabbed in the back with a corn cob, and a sheriff is impaled on a picket fence), several pointless cameos from horror luminaries (Stephen King, Joe Dante, John Landis, Tobe Hooper and Clive Barker), and a completely nutzoid finalé that sees the cats launch an all-out attack on Mary Brady, who has assumed her true reptilian/feline form.

To summarise: Sleepwalkers is by no means a classic King adaptation, but it's never a boring one.

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.