Plot: What’s it about?
Mary Brady (Alice Krige) and her young son, Charles (Brian Krause) have just moved into town, but they already know they’ll make a difference here. You see, these two look like normal people most of the time, but when they choose to, they can become much more sinister creatures. As with all the vampiric sleepwalkers, they must feed upon the lifeforces of others to survive, usually innocent young women. So when Charles meets and charms Tanya Robertson (Madchen Amick), she has no idea just what he wants her for. She is a rather naive young woman, a virgin as well, but she is having some thoughts of experimentation. As Charles moves in and out of his sleepwalker form at will, he tries to lure Tanya into his hands, so he can turn her over to his mother for a meal. Can Tanya escape the clutches of these sleepwalkers before they consume her, or will she simply be fodder for their future days?
As is the case with most of Stephen King’s work when it comes to the cinema, Sleepwalkers is a disappointment. The source material wasn’t among the best I admit, but this should have been better, at least moderate to good, in the end. The cast is the main flaw with Sleepwalkers, as it looks very much like a team of low level television performers were brought in, only much worse than that. A few humorous cameos and a terrific turn by Alice Krige aside, the cast is downright miserable, I can’t fathom why they were allowed to fulfill their roles until the end of shooting. But when Mick Garris at the helm, you expect television level goods and that is what happens here. I knew this movie wouldn’t be fantastic, but I wanted it to be good and it wasn’t. I found it mediocre when I saw it a few years ago and now, I think even less of it after a fresh viewing. So I think a rental will suffice in most cases and unless you’re a Stephen King zombie, you won’t be missing much if you choose to leave it on the shelf.
Mick Garris has done a few other Stephen King adaptations and by now, you’d think King would ban him from touching his stuff. In terms of television (which is where Garris is usually working), he is an average level worker, but in film and larger projects, he is a very weak talent. I think he has shown small sparks at times, but usually fouls it all up again by the end credits. I am unsure why he keeps chugging along, but let’s hope he sticks to television shows from now on, shall we? Other Garris projects include the mini-series editions of The Stand and The Shining, as well as feature films such as Critters 2: The Main Course. Aside from Alice Krige’s (Barfly, Chariots of Fire) solid efforts here, which are totally wasted in the end, this cast is a terrible lot of performers. You can also see such talents as Brian Krause (Breaking Free, Mind Games), Cindy Pickett (Evolver, Son in Law), Lyman Ward (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Independence Day), and Ron Perlman (Alien: Resurrection, City of Lost Children).
Video: How does it look?
Sleepwalkers is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, with a full frame version also included on this dual layered disc. This transfer is more than adequate, not much in terms of age signs and pretty sharp overall. The colors look very bright, with no real errors to report, while flesh tones come off as normal and warm also. The contrast is a little bright at times, but just a little and on the whole, black levels look dead on. No traces of compression errors and the print looks clean, I am very impressed with this visual presentation.
Audio: How does it sound?
A pretty standard 2.0 surround track, not much to rave about, but not much to complain about either. The musical soundtrack uses the most power, while the dialogue takes the front and never lets the other elements squeeze in. This is good though, as the dialogue needs prominence and here, it gets the spotlight. There is some nice range on display between the music and sound effects though, so it isn’t like the track is flat in the end. Not that impressive overall, but it more than handles the source material. The disc also has 2.0 surround tracks in Spanish and French, as well as subtitles in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Korean, Chinese, and Thai.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes some talent files, but no other supplements to speak of.
