The Film (3.5/5)

Please note: I do spoil some key aspects of the setup here so skip the first two paragraphs if you’ve never seen this film. Trust me, Sleepwalkers wastes very little time getting to the insanity -and I don’t ruin the ending or anything- but go into this film cold if you can.

Charles (Brian Krause) is the new kid in town but there’s just something about him. He’s a very unique individual. It could be the fact that he has an intensely romantic and sexual relationship with mother Mary (Alice Krige). That’s kind of boring though. Maybe it’s because both he and his mom are deathly afraid of cats and murder them constantly. No wait! I’ve got it. Charles and Mary are Sleepwalkers but instead of mere somnambulists, they’re a race of ancient cat-like creatures that feed on the life force of teenage girls and are generally unsociable. Only the awful creative writing teacher (Glenn Shadix) and a cat-loving cop (Dan Martin) suspect that anything is wrong with Charles.

In this small, Steven King-esque town where they have chosen to live and feed, Charles has located the perfect candidate for him and his mom to drain the life from. Her name is Tanya (Mädchen Amick) and she’s the virginal girl next door. I don’t see what the appeal is because her bedroom is covered in her dirty underwear. She falls under the spell of Charles instantly because he’s a dreamy babe when his features aren’t distorted into a feline monstrosity. When she barely eludes being sucked dry him and his mommy, all kinds of heck breaks loose. The town sheriff (Jim Haynie) and some state troopers have no idea what they’re getting themselves into as they take on these supernatural creepos.

Take a direct-to-screen idea from the brain of Stephen King, an up and coming horror movie sequel director, an insanely charming and talented cast, some ridiculous animal violence, and bizarre special effects, then mix them all up in a bloody and spicy early 1990s stew. The results are certainly mixed but the tone is so completely abnormal that it’s worth a look or a second look if you haven’t seen this in 20 years. Director Mick Garris and writer Stephen King would collaborate many more times after this moderate financial success including adaptations of “The Stand” and “The Shining” (without that pesky Stanley Kubrick changing a bunch of stuff from King’s original story). My guess is that a certain incestuous relationship as depicted on screen made this film very popular on the home video market. But that’s just my theory.

Cinematographer Rodney Charters mostly worked in TV before and after this film but his camerawork is very cinematic and looks great throughout. Composer Nicholas Pike’s score is good if not very memorable. There’s that damn Enya song (the one that the Fugees sampled, if anyone even remembers that) that has aged worse than everything else in this movie, including the dodgy CGI. As for Stephen King’s rocky history from page to screen, I think this might be one of my favorite of his films. I wish he’d written more films that weren’t based on his books because this is just bananas with lots of hokey bullcrap that warms my heart now. I know the script has jokes but no one knew how unfunny they were. Or maybe they did.

Aside from some the wonderful casting with the leads such as the captivating Mädchen Amick (of “Twin Peaks”), the likable Brian Krause, and the badassically seductive Borg Queen herself, Alice Krige (of Ghost Story and Silent Hill), this film also has a healthy amount of quirky character actors stashed all over it. Mark Hamill and Ron Pearlman both play law enforcement officers and make the most of their short screen time. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. You’ll be going “Oh hey, it’s that guy!” quite a bit with this one. Be sure to keep an eye out for some hugely gratuitous horror film and horror fiction cameos. You can’t miss ‘em!

Audio/Video (5/5)

Sleepwalkers looks and sounds awesome on this Shout! Factory disc. The 1.85:1 print looks great. The practical and early 1990s digital effects are here, warts and all, and they really add to the fun of the presentation if you’re the kind of person who enjoys this type of thing. I know I am! The audio is no slouch either and I can’t find anything to complain about in that department.

Extras (4/5)

Shout! Factory gives Sleepwalkers some much needed love with a bevy of extras. The audio commentary is a lively one with Mick Garris, Mädchen Amick, and Brian Krause walking down memory lane and having a ball. There’s also a lengthy interview with Garris about the genesis of the project, how he almost didn’t get the job, and what it was like to work on the film. Next up is an interview with Amick and Krause about working together on the film. They’re never very serious and still have a fun rapport after all these years.

There’s an interview with the always amazing Alice Krige who still looks like she could sling Mädchen Amick over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Also on the disc is an interview with prolific special effects guys Tony Gardner and Mike Smithson who lent their talents to Sleepwalkers. They discuss the challenges of bringing the monstrous cat creatures to life. There is also some shot-on-VHS footage of behind-the-scenes makeup effects footage that didn’t make it into the film. Rounding things off are trailers, TV spots, and an image gallery.

Overall

For me, time has been very kind to Sleepwalkers and I look forward to revisiting it more often. Like a lot of folks, I was confused as hell by this when it premiered on VHS. It’s certainly never boring and is even weirder and more genuinely macabre than I remembered. My tastes have certainly changed and nowadays, I just love when a film works this hard to be this dumb. Sleepwalkers will leave you with many questions including but not limited to “Do creative writing teachers have the authority to pull you over on country roads?” and “How in the hell do these creatures who hide among us keep from getting caught when they can only hold their shit together for maybe 5 minutes at a time?” and “Did they really think a Dirty Dancing reference was going to play in 1992 or ever?”

Lastly, animal lovers beware with this one. A huge part of the plot centers around cat murders. All of it seems on the level in terms of adhering to animal protection guidelines and completely staged but the scenes are still really messed up. There’s also a scene at the beginning where the director admits to using real euthanized cats for an effects shot. So there’s that. Oh and the incest too (between humans or semi-humans and not cats). If you have a problem with totally unsubtle incest then avoid this as well. Yikes.