The Sleeper

'The Sleeper' is a slow and rather bland 80's throwback slasher flick that whilst ambitious and does capture the authentic style and feel of the early 80's, but it doesn't quite capture the same charisma due to its sluggish pacing, lacklustre storytelling, stilted acting and lack of any sort of tension or suspense which makes this a slog to get through. However, it does have some decent elements such as the solid production values, the eerie atmosphere and ominous tone that runs throughout the entire runtime and there's even some fun and bloody kills, other than that there's not that much to enjoy here.

The Plot = Set in 1981 where the girls of Alpha Gamma Theta sorority are throwing a party to welcome new pledges. But little do they know there's a killer roaming about known only as 'The Sleeper' who starts killing off the girls one by one.

The filmmaking aspects of this film are highly impressive as the writer and director Justin Russell does recapture that 80's retro style with its haunting dreamlike vibe and well-structured cinematography that helps build a suitably claustrophobic feel. But what really lets things down is lack of consistency of the story as it feels way too derivative of another far better slasher flick 'Black Christmas' only without any of the magic or charm that movie had. There's a severe lack of scares or suspense here especially towards the kill scenes as while they were a bright spot here, there was a lack of build up towards them as they seem to just happen and the killer himself lacked any sort of menace and came across as too goofy and lacked any sort of screen presence or mystery as he was shown way too much. The movie didn't flow together as well as it should as everything just seemed dull and lifeless which leads to a very unsatisfying climax that lacked any sort of tension.

The acting for the most part was very wooden and bland, but there were a few bright spots such as Brittany Belland was fine as the final girl Amy, Paul Moon was rather likeable as Bobby and Jessica Cameron also gives a decent performance as one of the sorority girls Cindy.

Overall 'The Sleeper' was sort of ambitious from a filmmaking perspective, but other than that it wasn't a very fun viewing experience.

THE SLEEPER is a low-budget horror movie with a very basic plot about a serial killer who stalks a bunch of (female) college students. Yes, there are hundreds of movies with plots just like that but the fact that the movie is set in the 1980s is unusual for a low-budget production. The movie is actually not as bad as many of the negative reviews might suggest, but you have to keep in mind that this is a $30,000 production with mostly unexperienced actors. I guess most people who rated this movie low had their expectations set too high. They probably expected more of a plot, which is not really that important of an element in this movie. It's the way the story is presented effectively and evocatively on a very limited budget and with a cast of amateur actors that is intriguing.

Director Justin Russell and his crew did get a lot of things right to make this look like a typical 1980s horror flick. The pre-credit scenes and the opening titles in particular look like they could be straight out of a vintage slasher. The look of the rest of the movie falls short in a way, though, which can be attributed to the fact that it wasn't shot on film. THE SLEEPER could probably pretty much look like a movie from the decade it tries to recreate if they had shot it on real film stock instead of digital cameras. Ti West shot THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL (2009), which also takes place in the early 1980s, on 16 mm film and he managed to make it look exactly like a film from that period. If the producers of THE SLEEPER could have afforded to shoot on film, this movie would look a lot better and the vibe would be completely different. This digital footage just looks too clean and not film- like, which is not right for the time period. Therefore, you never really can fully appreciate the images shown in this movie because the look of the digital footage is quite distracting in many scenes. Nevertheless, they did the best they could with the very limited budget, I guess. Maybe the look could have been improved with the right filters, but I don't know about that.

A number actors from the cast are quite good even though they seem to be amateurs who do not pursue acting as a career. It's nice to see real-looking people in a movie for a change. I'd like to see more acting performances from these people, but for many of them this is the only movie they've done so far. I especially liked Jenna Fournier's performance. She is mainly a musician and painter, it seems, but I think she should act more. She has talent.

All in all, this is an enjoyable movie for fans of 1980s slasher movies. It has a good cast and most of the killing scenes are quite inventive and well done with nice practical effects. Yes, the movie is lacking an elaborate plot, and, yes, the movie should have a different, more film-like look, but if you can see over those issues and keep the limitations of low-budget productions in mind, you have an ambitious horror movie that was clearly made by fans of the genre for fans of the genre.

Slasher throwbacks are tricky. Very few people can get it right, but The Sleeper just about succeeds. In some ways, it really does feel a lot like an 80's slasher flick. The acting is a mixed bag, the cinematography isn't too bad, and the synth score is great.

The story is nothing special, but it's told fairly well and there's a few attempts at suspense. If I was going to compare it to the other classic horror films, I'd say it's a mix of Black Christmas, He Knows You're Alone, and Final Exam. If you liked those, you might like this one.

"The Sleeper" is a faux lost '80s slasher that wants to have an old school vibe. Unfortunately, the gimmick doesn't work. If the filmmakers wanted this to look like a horror movie from 1981, why not shoot on stock available at the time? The digital aspect is too polished and, aside from the opening credits, only adds to the sad fact that nothing looks like it's from the 1980s.

However, this movie will always be remembered for one reason. There's a disco/rap line dance that's so excruciating you'll have to see it to believe it. This scene is worse than the party fiascos in "The Howling: New Moon Rising" and "Birdemic: Shock and Terror." In the end, this movie will stay in the public conscious, but for all the wrong reasons.

There are certain movies that you instantly put on your wish list as soon as you discover their existence. In my case, shallow as it may sound, this reflex largely depends on the cover art illustration. I have a weakness for horror movies with vintage posters, kind of like how they all looked in the raunchy seventies and lurid eighties. When coincidentally stumbling upon the IMDb page of "The Sleeper" a few months ago, with its poster image that bears a lot of resemblance with such films as "Don't Go in the House", "Black Christmas" and "The Dorm that Dripped Blood", and simultaneously reading that writer/director Justin Russell intends to bring a throwback to the typically sorority-slash movies of that same era, the film immediately climbed up in my must-see list. I still love 80's horror, many of my friends still love 80's horror and apparently a lot of people across the globe still love 80's horror, as this glorious decade continues to inspire young filmmakers in the genre. After seeing the film I can safely say that Justin Russell knows the classics, the tricks and the do's and don'ts of 80's horror and, despite of many people (semi-righteously) complaining that "The Sleeper" looks overly polished and nearly not raw and sleazy enough, I feel that he hit the exact right tone in terms of atmosphere, photography and editing. The plot is rudimentary and straightforward, like it ought to be. The year is 1981 and the cute and lewd sisters of the Alpha Gamma Theta sorority are being harassed and brutally slain by a crazed stalker. This pervert sits around his lair, drivels and drools over the girls' photographs and petrifies them with obscene phone calls. As soon as they're dumb enough to separate themselves from the group, whether to shower or go to the gym, the "sleeper" (nicknamed this way because he puts the girls to sleep and marks their pictures with "ZZZ") sees his chance to sadistically massacre them with a hammer or various other garden tools. That's the plot! Isn't it lovely? Naturally there are some massive flaws to detect in the script as well. The pacing is overall too slow and irregular and several of the intentional "spoof" moments miss their effect, like the ridiculous musical/line dance sequence. The defaults are, however, widely compensated through the extremely gross (and deliciously campy) make-up effects, the raunchy atmosphere of long lost misogynic slashers and that irresistible 80's vibe that all the cast members so vividly translate to the screen. The clothes, the hairstyles, the teenage slang … It all makes perfect sense and catapults you straight back to the eighties. Personally, I even liked the bad aspects of "The Sleeper" because the vast majority of 80's slashers were, in fact, bad but tremendously enjoyable efforts. If you're still not convinced, then please give the movie the benefit of the doubt if it were only for the soundtrack provided by Gremlin. If this band, obviously inspired by the Italian cult band Goblin, doesn't spark your sense for 80's nostalgia, nothing ever will...