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Doctor Sleep

Doctor Sleep (2002)

February. 01,2002
|
6.1
|
R
| Horror Thriller Crime Mystery

While treating a policewoman for smoking, hypnotherapist Michael Strother has a telepathic vision of a young girl floating beneath the surface of a stream. The escaped victim of a ritualistic serial killer, the girl has become mute, and Michael is called upon by Scotland Yard to unlock the secrets she holds in order to catch a man who believes he has discovered the key to immortality.

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Reviews

Plantiana
2002/02/01

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

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Hayden Kane
2002/02/02

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

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Zlatica
2002/02/03

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

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Phillipa
2002/02/04

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

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Boba_Fett1138
2002/02/05

Of course not much was to be expected of this movie but it had a promising enough premise to make me think this would be a somewhat decent movie to watch. But no, the movie as it turns out is a very uneven and even messy one at times.You would think that hypnotism would play a big part in this movie and would evolve around it. But no, it's just a detective movie and mystery, in which Goran Visnjic's hypnotic skills don't even seem to be all that relevant. As a matter of fact, the movie takes a more supernatural approach, so even the scene's that do involve hypnotism have basically very little to do with real hypnotism. No, you really can't call this movie a realistic or convincing one.But what is way worse is that it isn't being a consistent one. The story jumps all over the place and takes way too many different directions. First you think it is going to be a movie about a hypnotist and his patient. Then it makes you believe that it's going to be all about a little girl who got abducted and by the end it suddenly turns into a super natural thriller. This movie really wanted to do way too much, while the story itself had far too little to offer.The movie isn't very original in any way and all the stuff that is in it you probably have seen somewhere else before and done way better or more creatively.The movie also doesn't ever really seem to really take off. I just never really got into it because the movie was lacking a good build up. Because of this also all of the tension and mystery of the movie falls incredibly short. This is also because the movie, for at least its first half, is lacking any danger. There is no visible villain and our main character isn't really threatened in any way. Besides the entire mystery that needs to get resolved remains too vague all throughout to really care about any of it.It's too bad, I have always wanted Goran Visnjic to breakthrough as a real leading man for movies but roles in productions like this really don't help his career much. It's just a very bland, uninteresting and uneven movie, that also seems to be far too over-Hollywoodized for a British BBC production, which this movie is.5/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

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LARSONRD
2002/02/06

Compelling and provocatively literate crime thriller along the SILENCE OF THE LAMBS variety. Goran Visnjic plays a hypnotist who managed to get a connection with a 10 yr old girl who escaped from a ritualistic serial killer. His family winds up being endangered, of course, but the way the story plays out, including his platonic rapport with the British detective, hampered by her superiors, in solving the case is quite enjoyable. Murders turn out to have something to do with 16th Century occultism. Overall a quite satisfying mystery/thriller, nicely made, and effectively directed. Simon Boswell contributes an effectively eerie score that adds to the atmosphere.

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Charlie76
2002/02/07

Without wanting to sound childish, I don't think there are words to describe just how bad a film this really is. I felt bad for some of the actors involved, and maybe the writer wasn't even that bad.. I'm really not sure because i couldn't see past the horrible directing. This might have been the most poorly directed film i've ever seen. It was bad in too many ways to bother elaborating very much, but if you saw this and did enjoy it then that's great; but speaking as someone that loves films (no not a film student), my advice is - don't even consider watching this, not even on the telly. It's 2 hours of your life you'll never get back. You could have been watching paint dry mate.

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Gafke
2002/02/08

Hypnotherapist Michael Strother experiences a psychic flash while trying to help policewoman Janet quit smoking. He mentions his vision of a young girl floating just beneath the surface of a stream to Janet, who tells him that the girl is Heather. Heather has recently escaped from the Tattoo Killer and has not spoken a word since. Michael very reluctantly agrees to help Janet in her search for the killer. Traumatized Heather reveals a few clues under hypnosis and geeky researcher Elliot provides still more with his research into the occult. Michael however has reason to worry. His insomnia is back, his guilty memories have been stirred up again, his heavily pregnant wife does not approve of what he's doing, and the killer pays a visit to his house in the dead of night, leaving behind an ominous warning. When Elliot turns up dead and Heather is kidnapped for a second time, Michael and Janet have little time left to discover the whereabouts of an ancient church...one of ten whose locations form a perfect pentagram on the map.If you're looking for a fast paced splatter fest, filled with gore and excitement and gunfire, skip this film. If you can appreciate a slow, moody, thoughtful psycho- drama with a low budget and lots of good performances, this film is for you. There's plenty of violence, don't get me wrong. A hideous evisceration and a hungry rat make their appearance, but the camera mercifully looks away. For people with morbid imaginations, it is still a difficult scene to watch, as is the squirm-inducing lobotomy scene which fans of the film Session 9 will find familiar. The performances are great, particularly by Goran Visnij as the insomniac Michael who rarely smiles and always looks slightly haunted. He nevertheless seems to be a good husband to Miranda Otto (Eowyn from LOTR) as his heavily pregnant and hormonally irritable wife Clara. Miranda's American accent is flawless and she looks great. Her performance is totally believable. Shirley Henderson (Moaning Myrtle from the Harry Potter films) as Janet and Fiona Shaw (Petunia Dursley, also from HP) as the creepy Catherine Lebourg are both almost unrecognizable, turning in stoic, tight-lipped performances which are perfect. Despite a somewhat predictable and downer ending, this film at least tries to be original and intelligent. The special effects used during the hypnosis scenes are clever and colorful and the mood throughout is heavy with dread. This is a good little film with strong performances, but it's not for everyone. Fans of mainstream horror may be bored silly, but fans of films such as the aforementioned Session 9 and the Chinese ghost story The Eye may enjoy this one as well.

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