Sleepwalkers

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Rating 2


Directed by Mick Garris

Written by Stephen King

Starring Brian Krause, Mädchen Amick, Alice Kriege, Dan Martin, Jim Haynie, Cindy Pickett, Lyman Ward, Monty Bane, Glenn Sadix and Ron Perlman


Charles Brady (Brian Krause) and his mother Mary (Alice Kriege) are Sleepwalkers, shapeshifting creatures similar to vampires, who are able to “dim” themselves and objects around them, making them invisible. Their Achilles’ heel is their aversion to cats, who can see through their illusions and can cause fatal injuries by clawing them.

Mary requires the lifeforce of a female virgin and Charles thinks he has found it in the form of Tanya (Mädchen Amick), who attends the local high school and works part-time at the cinema. However, he brings attention to himself when he leads Officer Andy Simpson (Dan Martin) on a high-speed car chase – and then Tanya proves to be tougher than she looks.

This 1992 horror film was written by Stephen King. It was one of the first films to utilise “morphing” special effects. The film looks very dated now, but I remember watching it several years ago and thinking it was all rather silly, even back then.

There are several ridiculously obvious gaping holes and inconsistencies in the plot, dotted throughout the film. For reasons that are never explained, the relationship between Charles and his mother is an incestuous one, which seems very much out of place and is all a little grubby. The premise is interesting, but the final result is disappointing and tepid. At times it almost resembles ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’ with a supernatural twist.

Mädchen Amick, who played Shelly Johnson in ‘Twin Peaks’ and has subsequently carved out a successful career in numerous other television shows, is likeable, but Brian Krause (who later played Leo in the television series ‘Charmed’) gives a performance that is probably best forgotten. Alice Kriege is wasted, although she does come into her own in the closing scenes. The cameo appearances by Stephen King and the film directors Clive Barker, Joe Dante, Tobe Hooper and Jon Landis are pointless and, I found, decidedly irritating in their obvious smugness.

‘Sleepwalkers’ grossed a little over $30.5 million at the US box office when it was released into cinemas in 1992, placing it at No.43 in the annual box office list for that year. Although it is was made just sixteen years ago, it probably works best now viewed as a museum piece, so horribly dated does it look.



Still taken from mädchenamick.net



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