Sleepstalker (1995)

When he was a child, Griffin (Jay Underwood) witnessed the murder of his parents by a lullaby-singing, sand-sprinkling serial killer who thought he was "The Sandman" (Michael Harris). Seventeen years later, Griffin has grown up to be an aspiring journalist, but his parent's killer only now is being put to death. Before the Sandman is executed, he invokes a black-magic ritual that allows him to come back to life as a creature of sand who can change shape at will. His mission: to end Griffin's life, which mysteriously assures him immortality. Although this diverting B-movie thriller gets grounded by low-grade effects, it works around it via Michael G. Wojciechowski's stylish cinematography; the Sandman scattering to envelope one victim and later flying through air conditioning vents as a cloud of dust are effective. Despite some contrived moments and the mixed acting abilities of the supporting cast, Sleepstalker keeps things moving thanks to director-coscreenwriter Turi Meyer's confident guidance, good performances from Underwood and Harris, and an appropriately self-conscious sense of humor. (But keep an eye out for two blatant continuity errors.) The creepy opening is quite memorable. --Bryan Reesman Amazon.com

Down Where The Woodbines Creep...

Sleeptalker surprised me and surpassed my expectations. This isn't your average B-movie, and it certainly deserves wider recognition and separation from the various straight-to-video flicks that are ignored by the typical movie-goer.

The plot revolves around a young man named Griffin (Jay Underwood) with an obviously troubled past. Griffin's parents (Marc McClure, Caryn Richman) were murdered when he was only seven years old by a serial killer known only as the Sandman (Michael Harris) -- a creepy scene we witness at the beginning of the film. Seventeen years later, when Griffin is a grown man, he seems to be leading a relatively normal life. He is looking for his big break in writing/journalism, and has a steady friendship (which, of course, is evolving into something more) with the lovely Megan (Kathryn Morris). But his seemingly normal life is shaken when he learns that The Sandman will soon be executed. At first, he's simply relieved and tries to brush it aside. But he'll soon discover that, as the tagline for the movie suggests, "Evil never dies...it only waits to be reborn". In his cell, the Sandman is given his last rites by a priest (Michael D. Roberts) -- who is actually a satanic worker of witchcraft. Through the dark powers that be, he grants the Sandman immortality, but only if he can kill Griffin within three nights. Griffin is his mortal link to this world -- a link that must be severed. This little bit of the story is actually a driving point behind the entire plot. A decently clever twist that pulls everything together by the end. So, after his death, the lullaby-singing sleep-stalker is reincarnated into a body made completely of sand. Yes, shapeshifting and such is made possible, but believe it or not, this aspect of the killer was brought to the screen in just the right way that it's not as cheesy as it sounds. And once he's back in his new form, it seems it's the end of the line for old Griffy boy. But he's not going down without a fight. Through the assistance of the satanic priest, as well as his devoted friend Megan who seems to be the only one who believes him, he's able to uncover the truth behind The Sandman and possibly put an end to all of the madness. But when all is said and done, is that truly possible?

Sleepstalker is definitely a cut above most B-flicks. Michael Harris dominated the screen with his terrifyingly realistic portrayal of one creepy-as-hell cinema-psycho! Also to my delight, the cast was not filled with wannabe actors that couldn't convince the audience with their characters. Most of the acting was quite impressive. And for the majority of the film, all of the behind-the-scene touches -- including directing, editing, cinematography, and a great score (with a haunting rendition of "Sleep Baby Sleep" by Teresa Straley) -- really aided this in becoming something worthy of five stars. There are plenty of great movies out there that aren't recognized because of the sterotype claiming B-flicks to be amateur and stupified, and Sleepstalker is one of them. Sure, you can't expect a blockbuster masterpiece hit, but you can certainly expect something highly entertaining from Sleepstalker. There aren't any special features, but the film alone is enough reason to pick up this DVD. It's worth a look for all horror buffs and even thriller fans. December 27, 2005

A decent horror flick for its time!

I remember watching this years ago... I thought it was a decent film with ok acting. And Mr. Michael Butts, Kathryn Morris' hit tv series is Cold Case--not Without A Trace! ..just to set the record straight. =) December 22, 2005

MR. SANDMAN SING ME A SONG

SLEEPSTALKER surprised me. It's an effective, chilling, if flawed, horror movie. Give Michael Harris credit for a chilling portrayal of the Sandman, both before and after his sandy transition. Kathryn Morris (who now has a hit series, WITHOUT A TRACE) has one of her early roles as Megan, the heroine. Jay Underwood gets a little histrionic, but at least he puts everything into his role as Griffin, the young man who saw his parents murdered by the Sandman seventeen years earlier. The direction is good and the cinematography very atmospheric. Teresa Straley's haunting rendition of SLEEP BABY SLEEP sent chills up my spine for its sweet, yet ominous, overtones.
Effectively haunting, not gory, but spooky all the same. September 30, 2004

A Fun Film

This is another one of those movies I like to rent once a year or so. I find horror films to be mindless fun and this is a good one. I was impressed with the quality of the DVD, although it is not in widescreen. I like the acting and the character development. I liked Griffin. The Sandman could have easily become another icon like Freddy or Jason if they had continued with sequels. Of course with any horror movie, you can poke holes in the plot. There was little gore and no sex scenes and this made the movie lack what most other horror movies provide. The acting was good, the photography and lighting was good, and the score was good.

This is a fun addition to my collection. May 27, 2004

a top dog INSULT!!!! to horror movies and horror fans!!!!

this movie by far is one of the worst horror flicks ive ever seen!!!BAD BAD BAD acting!/CRAPPY CRAPPY CRAPPY directing!(nothing artful about it!!!)/STUPID STUPID STUPID special effects(and i mean FAKE!!!stupid)/NOT ORIGINAL!!!/in a movie this crappy you need alot of blood & gore to give a horror fan some type of satisfaction,but GUESS WHAT!!!!there is none!!!!that i think is what URKED!!!me the most.i mean the NERVE and or the lack of NERVE it takes for a DIRECTOR who has no good creative/original/creepy(leave it to the viewer to imagine what evil could be behind the door)scenes in his or her movie,to not even give us any blood & gore"THAT SHOULD BE A CRIME!!!!" the bottom line is there are GREAT low budget horror films out there(example"the original TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE") and there are some GREAT big budget horror films out there(example"ALIEN")and somewhere in between there are GREAT horror movies with flaws(example"NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET")there are also some great horror movies out there that are only great because of the large amount of BLOOD & GORE in them(example"DEAD ALIVE")but then there's movies like this one that im reviewing right now that just plain out STINKS!!!!it doesnt matter how it was made LOW BUDGET/BIG BUDGET/IN BETWEEN/ITS JUST CRAP!!!!!!im not joking its like a BAD 80s HBO after school special thats trying as hard as it can to scare you BUT IT JUST DOESN'T!!!ITS JUST TOOOO STUPID!!!!!!!!!HORROR FANS DON'T WAIST YOUR TIME!!!!! i just can't say it enough this movie is so stupid that it kicks & screams for some BLOOD & GORE to save it and they don't even give you any of that!!!!100,000,000,000 THUMBS DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!! April 15, 2004

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