Sleepwalker

I managed to order a copy of the Sleepwalker DVD by contacting the producers through the films website (www.sleepwalkerthemovie.com) and was stoked when it arrived in well presented DVD packet.

Knowing that it was a short film shot on practically no budget in a country town of Australia I was excited to receive packaging that is better than some big budget flicks.

Luckily the quality didn't end there… This schlock horror film was obviously produced by a team with an underlying sense of humor as there are a few moments during the mayhem that just make you laugh. I am sure there is a brief bit of audio from Plan 9 from Outer Space in there also.

Visually this film is quite stunning, especially as it's shot on video but the on location sound quality is not great. This however is masked well by a killer original soundtrack.

The cast are good, led by Justin Coombes-Pearce as Jim. Apparently Justin is a breakfast radio announcer in Australia, which makes sense as his strong voice commands authority in this film.

The director Sean Batman also enlisted (I am guessing) a family member in Lauren Batman to play support to Justin in Sleepwalker and she also comes across well on screen. The rest of the small cast also puts in a good performance.

This film will not set the world on fire but is a really great effort from a team with no budget and I really hope we all get to see more from the cast, especially Justin Coombes-Pearce and the director Sean Batman in the future.

Sean Batman has directed a dark and exquisite piece of intoxicating zombie cinema in this (..probably the first of the trilogy..) mini epic. The action centres around a young man who lives in an abandoned church in Rural Australia. He is very lonely and drinks lots of beer. He misses his divorced wife and watches television... but then things start to happen. Strage things. Bad things. Sort of like the bad things that happen in Exorcist, but even worse maybe. Ben Amy stars as the cop determined to put a stop to the strange going ons at the church, and hopefully shag the hot ex-wife, played remarkably well by the directors younger sister, Lauren Batman. This is Ben's first film role, and is likely to be the first of many ''hard'' cop roles he plays. Lauren is a professional (actor) and arguably steals the show. Her line..''you will sleep.. LIKE THE DEAD''...could be one of the best today. Bob Farleigh and Graeme Walsh have composed a haunting soundtrack that chills you to your bones, yet alternatively shocking and terrifying you with its rock grunginess. These are clearly two angry, angry young men. Emma Thompson (not the one from the man from snowy river) plays a young filly looking to purchase the old church, and she is accompanied by young up and comer Mark Cable, who plays her silly husband!! Don't buy the church Mark!! Don't buy the church!! It is Evil.

I will say a zombie does feature in this film.. and that it is pretty cool, and it can find cool spots to hide. Watch out for it.

A good film. A classic zombie/horror possession/cop/love story/tale of loneliness. I enjoyed it.

This is Sean Batmans first attempt at cracking the commercial market. I am certainly looking forward to Sleepwalker 2...''IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP''. Watch out for Barb.