Sleepwalker (2017) Reviews

• Is it me?

  Sleepin_Dragon2018-11-14

  I watched this, and for the most part enjoyed it, but what on Earth was it about, what was going on? I concentrated from start to finish, but simply could not follow it, I am all for complexity in films, ambiguity, but this just made absolutely no sense, events were happening just for the sake of it. The ending sucked, totally lazy writing, to an unforgivable extent, very definitely a case of 'did they think they could get away with that in this day and age?' The acting was excellent, very impressive performances, and the visuals were truly excellent. I did like it, even if I didn't quite follow it. Mehh, 5/10

• Very Strange!

  brightspark-782392017-10-13

  A very strange movie about the perception of reality - am I dreaming or is what I perceive to be a dream actually reality? This is the question posed by Sleepwalker and, as far as I am concerned anyway, remains unanswered to the very end. Acting is excellent, pace is good, intrigue builds, but, in the end, I was left thinking... what the heck just happened! I am certainly not dumb, but maybe someone far more insightful than I could explain what this movie is all about, because, frankly, I have no idea. Sleepwalker left me with mixed feelings; while I quite enjoyed the viewing experience, waiting patiently for the shocking revelation to arrive, when the movie ended and I was left none the wiser, my final thought was... what a massive waste of time! One for the hyper-imaginative perhaps? Definitely not for those who prefer their story lines all neatly wrapped up in a bow.

• Decent mind bender

  stephenw-301802017-10-10

  Sleepwalker certainly makes an attempt to be a mind bending thriller, and does so with mixed results. The viewer might have to watch the film twice to get the gist of its meaning. I did! A woman is found sleepwalking in the middle of the night and has no idea where she is. The police find her and return her to her dorm. She has a history of sleep walking and is concerned it is starting again. After another nights restlessness, she decides to go to the College sleep study program to be monitored. After the first time she does this things start to become strange. Things around her start to change subtly. The Dr. In charge takes a personal interest in her case and attempts to help her as things progressively get stranger and stranger as the studies continue. The rest of the film is an exercise in uncertainty, nightmares, and amnesia. The film, I thought, was somewhat thought provoking but misses the mark as a real mind bending thriller. It is more a film about a woman with a sleep disorder which turns into a mix of confusion, hallucinations And scattered reality. I would say it worth a viewing but don't expect much in way of a strong thriller....

• Mystery solved

  lufacebook2018-12-06

  As I watched this I did start doubting whether the events described by the protagonist was real or a strange psychotic episode. It had me going for a while although I think the story did stall slightly halfway as I wanted to get to the crux of why. Ultimately any confusion or doubt about what was happening was instantly answered in the last 5 minutes, which did make me feel deflated at the end as the impact of the movie could have been better if some of the mystery was left unsolved. Ultimately, poor Sarah did remember the actual events of killing her married lover along with herself and the initial back story given to us was false. Fortunately or unfortunately for her she survived the apparent suicide and is now in a coma trapped in her own mind, which boils down to the entire movie based on her mind's machinations of dealing with what happened during her comatose state. The clues were there though, the water leak theme everytime she locked herself in a room (mapped to real world happenings as water drips from the ceiling onto her toe during her coma), the coma hospital guy no doubt a complete sleaze bag as she lies there helpless manifests in her coma dreams as the guy suffocating her, and of course the sleep doctor who cares for her is the lover calling it off before his untimely death by her hand. Very neat little bow to tie everything up, nowhere near as good as Memento or other movies of its ilk but not a terrible movie either I've seen much worse. All in all decent enough to watch on Netflix with a cup of tea in hand, even with the average acting.

• The makings of a cult classic, but a failed ending

  siderite2017-10-14

  The acting was OK and the directing was good. The mood of the film was exactly what I think it should have been and the tension keeps increasing as the movie goes, so it was captivating. All in waiting for the end that will explain it all. Alas, it kind of went the way of Phantasm, where you don't know where reality begins and fantasy ends, thus invalidating most of the qualities of the production. I liked the main character. A gorgeous redhead who doesn't act all passionate and crazy, but coolly tries to figure out a situation that would have made most people crack. The other characters were kind of secondary, but they did their job in a story that is about what's going on in the lead's head. Perhaps I wasn't in the mood for mind bending movies, but I also generally hate films that end with "oh, it was all in their head" or "they were all dead" (yes, not a fan of Jacob's Ladder), so I didn't enjoy the ending at all. Bottom line: with so many good things in this film - including Izabella Scorupco who is still hot as hell and Ahna O'Reilly moving around in white underwear - I really wanted to like and understand the film and I just couldn't. Too bad.