Sleepwalkers

SLEEPWALKERS, directed by Mick Garris (director of several King books/stories, producer, writer and host of the best horror podcast around - Post Mortem) and written by Stephen King, is a bizarre yet highly entertaining take on supernatural lore. The film stars Brian Krause (Charmed), Alice Krige (Ghost Story), Mädchen Amick (Twin Peaks) with cameos from Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Joe Dante (Gremlins, The Howling), Clive Barker (Nightbreed), John Landis and Stephen King himself.Charles Brady (Brian Krause) and his mother Mary (Alice Krige) have recently moved to a small town in Indiana after fleeing their home in California. Unbeknownst to those around them, the Brady’s are modern-day vampires who move from one town to the next, preying on young women and draining their blood in order to survive. Also known as shapeshifters, their true nature is unrecognizable from almost everyone except felines. Once settled into their new home, Charles sets his sights on a new victim, the inexplicably single, innocent and virginal high-school student, Tanya Robertson (Mädchen Amick). Charmed by Charles’ charisma, nothing could have prepared Tanya for the horror that awaited her as she comes to learn of Charles’ mutating ways. As the terror rises, along with the body count, the townsfolk gather, with felines in tow, for the ultimate showdown between man and monster.This movie is wild. While I haven’t read, or seen, all of Stephen King’s work, but I’ve seen enough where I feel comfortable saying that this particular storyline is probably one of his more unusual ones. The film takes a hard left turn right from the start when it’s revealed that Charles and his mother share a very intimate, romantic, relationship. Honestly, I was so disturbed by their storyline that it was hard to watch them interact on screen regardless of the fact that they were shapeshifting vampires.I don’t want to linger too long on the incestuous plot line so let’s turn to the practical effects. This was one aspect of the film that really shined even if the end results were a bit comical at times. When it came time for us to see Charles and Mary in their true form, I was incredibly impressed with the detail that went into the design of their creatures form. However, the midway portion of their transformations were by far the most laughable – I would have never guessed that they were vampires by their transformation, instead, I would have assumed they had mutated themselves into some weird half cat/half human hybrid. It’s when we move into the territory of visual effects that we see a bit of a decline, but I blame that on the fact that it was the early ‘90s and we hadn’t perfected the use of CGI yet (though, I’m not sure we ever will).In terms of performances, I had a blast with all the characters that the actors portrayed (outside of the romantic mother-son relationship). It was great seeing so many surprise cameos throughout the film, but the most surprising was definitely when Ron Perlman showed up. Again, not knowing much about this film prior, I had no idea that he was going to pop in out of nowhere, which the same could be said about Mark Hamill, who has a brief cameo in the beginning of the film. However, my favorite character had to be police officer Andy Simpson (played by Dan Martin) as not only did he have the best tunes to sing along too but he also had his a cat as his trusty sidekick. He knew what was up, he knew there was something off with Charles, and it’s truly unfortunate that no one listened to him.All in all, SLEEPWALKERS may be an odd film to many, but I came to find that there were a lot of entertaining moments. I wouldn’t categorize this as being one of Stephen King’s best stories, but it’s one that is at least enjoyable to watch by yourself or with a group of friends. If you are a fan of killer critters like I am, I highly suggest watching this high because dang, it’s a trip.This is for the "bare boned" bluray. There's a special Shout!/Scream factory version priced at (about) thirty bucks - frankly, as enjoyable as the movie is, the "Criterion" treatment seems like overkill.

Great movie

I. Love this movie

This is a film that was on my "hope comes to blu-ray list" along with "They Live" which releases on 11/6. This is a classic horror film from the 90's era; though some may argue that "Stephen King's Sleepwalkers" is not a horror film or it simply has some horror elements. Nevertheless, it is a very fun film to watch higlighted by Enya's beautiful song "Boadicea". There are not really any stellar acting performances, but some very memorable ones. Dan Martin's performance as police officer Andy is classic. The songs he sings, his dialogue and his phrases are hilarious; especially his "hold the phone line". Dan Martin's acting have a sense of charm in his character role. Alice Krige does deliver a dark, sinister character very well. Even smart mouth and sarcastic Ron Perlman delivers. As far as horror, some of the creepiest scenes in the film are when the mirror reveals what the sleepwalkers really look like; quite creepy. But honestly, by the end of the film, you end up feeling sorry for the "Sleepwalkers". But on to the blu-ray. This blu-ray delivers exactly what I was expecting: a nice detailed 1080p transfer with no massive tampering. The daylight scenes look really good. Overall, I would recommend this catalog title to any horror fan, Stephen King fan or monster film fan. What I enjoyed is that the filmmakers didn't try to take the film too serious which enables the viewers to just have a good time watching the film. Many may call the film campy, yeah there is some camp to the film. But I think that Alice Krige and Dan Martin carry the film very well with their performances.

Love it

It was a movie that i wanted to see again.

Stephen King fan, a must.

This is a product review only not a movie 🎥 review. This reviews for the Blu-ray/DVD 📀 by Shout! Factory ‘s Collectors Edition of Stephen Kings “SleepWalkers”Very good HD video/audio transfer decent amount of special features. The case did come busted on one corner you can see in my pictures other than that I give four ⭐️ ‘s would be five ⭐️‘s if the case wasn’t busted ! Does come with a slipcover with new artwork.! Absolutely recommend this collectors addition to any Stephen King fan and fan of the movie sleepwalkers. Thank you sincerely JTriplettPS check out my pictures

Stephen King's Sleepwalkers is a bit of a tongue-in-cheek horror flick, notably not an adaptation of one of King's original stories or novels. Story is a bit ropy in places, and the mother/son incest scenes are admittedly the most disturbing in the whole movie (the death by corncob scene is a stretch). The make-up and creature effects are great for their time, and I love how the director's wife, Cynthia Garris, gets a bit part, along with the director's mates and fellow horror directors (in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance with John Landis, Joe Dante, Clive Barker, Tobe Hooper and Stephen King). It was great to see the superb Ron Perlman make a brief appearance (he was criminally underused, OMFG!). And how weird is it to hear Enya's neo-Celtic ethereal vocals ('Boadicea' track) play over the end credits of a horror movie?! I actually missed this film when it was first released in the theatre, and now having bought it on dvd, I love it! Extras are almost non-existent unfortunately, as there's no behind-the-scenes documentary, production notes, or 'making of' bonus content on this dvd release.

When newcomers Charles (Brian Krause) and his mother, Mary (Alice Krige), settle into town, the local residents do not suspect that they're the last two survivors of a vampiric shapeshifting species that feed on the life force of human female virgins.Charles quickly befriends innocent and chaste Tanya Robertson (Madchen Amick) when he begins attending high school, hoping to take her life force in order to feed his mother. When Tanya agrees to a first date with Charles, she may learn his true intentions the hard way.Sleepwalkers (also known as Stephen King's Sleepwalkers) is a 1992 American horror film written by Stephen King and directed by Mick Garris, It was the first time King wrote a screenplay intended for the screen first, rather than adapting one of his already-existing novels or stories, King even makes a cameo as the local cemetery Caretaker,other cameos to look out for are,John Landis as Lab Technician,Clive Barker as forensic technician,Jedi Master Mark Hamill as Sheriff Jenkins (uncredited).Also Tanya's parents are the same actors who played Ferris Bueller's parents,Lyman Ward played Ferris's dad and ended up marrying Cindy Pickett, the woman who played his wife in the film, after production wrapped.The movie's theme song Boadicea sung by Enya will have you literally humming it for days. The movie looks not bad on DVD I was hoping to buy the blu-ray but this was a more economical option, with a nice crisp transfer, DVD came fast reliable delivery from Amazon. Very happy with it.

I love this movie.Saw it years ago and was please to see it released on Blu-ray as part of the Eureka Classics label.The digital "shape shift" effects are quite crude by todays standard but the film is 30 years old.The Eureka slip case and box art are brilliant, a must for any horror and cat fan.The sound track is a blast from the past too , featuring tracks by Enya, The Contours and "It's a monster" by Extreme to name a few.It also includes a booklet for the first 2000 copies and a bunch of special features that i have not watched yet so unfortunately cant comment.All in all another great movie for my ever growing collection of obscure movies in my retro room.

A mother and son complete with incest move to a different town since they are really big cat monsters- fair description who need to keep feeding. Son tries to fit into life and claim a virgin girlfriend so he can give her up as food for his mum. Whilst of course Sleepwalkers is a horror movie based on a Stephen King story, the movie works because of its different characters and story arcs, so much so that a second viewing soon after would not bore.There's definitely meat on the bones for this one and watch out for tiny cameos from King himself, Clive Barker, Joe Dante and John Landis, movie is directed by Mick Garris. Oh and Ron Perlman plays one of the cops, ironic given that he looks like one of the shapeshifters. Whilst not a horror classic, I'd put this one as a really solid horror movie.

Overlooking the perverse sexuallity of this film it's the story of hunk Charles Brady [Brian Krause] who is having an incestuous relationship with his sexy mother Mary [Alice Krige]. They are both Sleepwalkers—vampire like creatures with a distinct fear of cats, who are able to shapeshift themselves and their possessions or even turn invisble when they have to, who need to feed off the lifeforce of virgin women. Arriving in a new town, enter Tanya Robertson [Mädchen Amick] as their next victim.The opening scenes are definately not for cat lovers, so beware. Despite it's age [1992] the film still manages to provide good entertainment, but if it's an outright horror you're after then you'll be bitterly disappointed as the film lacks the frights and gore of modern films and is quite tame for a Stephen King story, even the sex scenes manage to get by without nudity. Whilst it is now no longer ground-breaking it remains highly watchable. Some weak scripting in the middle lets it all down a little but it mostly manages to keep quick paced and it all seems to end rather too soon, yet I can't see how it could have been extended. The soundtrack fits superbly with the overall film, whilst the picture and sound quality are good for the time.Not quite a five star, but certainly recomemned if your looking for a lightweight hooror in the vein of Hitchcocks 'The Birds' -only with cats, and they really freak me out.