There are a ton of horror movies released these days. At one
time that was not the case, horror films only came in cycles and fans were
forced to wait for those to come around again. But with the invention of
streaming whole channels now are focused on the genre and films are being made
with those channels in mind, movies that don’t always play in theaters but go
straight to disc and those channels. SLEEP NO MORE feels like it falls into
that category, a horror film that’s not bad but that you get the impression
wouldn’t have lasted long in a theater.
The story takes place in 1986 at a college where a group of
grad students are experimenting with a new drug while trying to make a
discovery about sleep and the lack of. Their theory is that once a person
reaches 200 hours without sleep they no longer require it. The implications for
this in use for soldiers and more would be astronomical.
The five students include leader Joe (Keli Price) who is
sleeping with Professor Whatley (Yasmine Aker) in the side, Frannie (Brea
Grant) the studious type member, Dale (Stephen Ellis) the class clown and Holly
(Christine Dwyer) the girl with her own special secrets and Carter (Lukas
Gage). As the film opens we witness Carter go off the deep end and commit
suicide cutting his own throat after gauging out his eyes. This leads to an
investigation where the study is shut down. Determined to carry on the rest
decide to take matters into their own hands along with a professor willing to
assist.
With break taking place they remain behind and set about
carrying on the experiment, continuing to inject the experimental drug Cognifan
into themselves while watching and recording the effects of the drug with no
sleep. One by one they begin suffering from hallucinations, in some cases
dangerously close to bringing them to action. The Dale is there control
subject, not given the Cognifan. But he takes the drug after dozing off and
waking then accidentally injecting it.
The question rises are the visions they are seeing simply
images created due to sleep deprivation? Or was there something else that
Carter saw, something so terrifying that it made him do what he did?
Comparison to films like FLATLINERS and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM
STREET will follow this film forever since those movies used similar concepts.
But this one has its own take on the genre. It made for an interesting concept
but as for the follow through on that my feelings are mixed.
The images seen by the group are CGI based and some will
hate that aspect of it. I found that it didn’t do any damage from my
perspective. The ghostly images would be hard pressed with practical effects
and the CGI here is far above anything seen in the weekly SyFy schlock films
that channel puts out. They’re genuinely creepy if not terrifying and add to
the atmosphere.
The acting here is better than most films of the budget and
all come off as believable. The setting rings true to with the cast confined to
the dorm area the story takes place in. There’s no need to run around campus
due to the story involved. The cinematography is a bit lacking at moments but
overall works fine. One thing the movie does to capture the time period is its
use of popular music from the 80s. This works well in setting that period along
with the Walkman being worn to listen to it.
On the whole the movie isn’t a bad little flick with some
enjoyable moments. I’ve read some reviews that have ravaged the film but didn’t
think it deserved the scorn that was being laid on it. I’ve seen much worse in
low budget horror films and this one delivered on most of the marks it set out
to hit. So if you’re looking for something a little different this Halloween
season give this one a watch. And then make sure you get a good night’s rest.
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