Movie Review: Sleepwalkers (1992)
Synopsis: Charles Brady and his mother, Mary, are possibly the last of a breed of vampire-like creatures known as Sleepwalkers and are constantly on the run. After temporarily settling in the small town of Travis, Indiana, they set their sights on Tanya Robertson, a teenage virgin they hope to drain of her life energy to extend their lives but first need to avoid detection and an army of cats capable of killing them.
Who's in it? The movie stars Brian Krause, Mädchen Amick, Alice Krige, Jim Haynie and Ron Perlman.
I have a mixed history with Stephen King movies, enjoying some but not a fan of many others. Unfortunately, this movie fell into that latter category - I didn't hate it but also didn't think it was anything memorable.
The premise of the movie isn't a bad one. While comparable to many other vampire movies, I did like a story told from the monsters' point of view, something that gave it the potential to give some more depth to the bad guys. The problem is the film fails to capitalize on that.
In fact, there is a whole lot about this movie that just feels incomplete. This especially true of the not-so-subtle incest going on between Charles (Krause) and Mary (Amick). It was one of those things, along with some basic background about the two Sleepwalkers (including just how old they were) that really would have helped put things in a bit of context - for example, I wasn't sure if Mary was his real mother or it was an adoptive term, like a vampire that turned someone into a vampire.
The Sleepwalkers abilities also seemed to be a bit random, as though a power was added at the last minute to fix a plot hole, such as Charlie being able to transform his car into another car following a police chase.
And there sure were a lot of plot holes. For a pair of creatures trying to stay undetected for as long as possible, it seemed like Charlie was going out of his way to be detected, whether it was engaging in an extended and unneeded police chase or taking the time to meet Tanya's (Amick) parents so they would automatically know who was responsible if their daughter was found dead.
I will say there was one positive to this movie though. Tanya was surprisingly bad ass when her back was against the wall, finding multiple ways to escape Charlie despite him supposedly being an apex predator. It was refreshing compared to many other horror movie victims.
Of course, since the movie didn't bother giving us that much of a background about him, that apex predator assumption may have been incorrect. I mean, he did get his ass kicked by a teenage girl and a cat.
Final Opinion: It's a movie that has a lot of unrealized potential. I didn't hate it, I just felt it was incomplete and not memorable.
My Grade: C
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Here are some reviews of other Stephen King movies:
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