Don't Sleep (2017)

So much average

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

The soundtrack at the end credits. I fell in love with the music, so if nothing else, I'm glad I didn't give up and shut the movie off before it was over. Stacy Earl's "Devil Inside You" was beautifully haunting and was very hard to find online. I found it on the apple store. Anyway, back to the movie itself. I love horror movies and am always looking for new and intriguing ones to watch (but I stay away from realistic gore and serial killer movies on most occasions). That being said, I was mini binging movies today and after finishing "The Haunting" again, and watching "Amityville: The Awakening (which I'd give about 5-6 stars)" for the first time, I decided to check out this one because I enjoy watching Dominic in "Shadowhunters" on Freeform (Very upset it's been cancelled after season 3..sigh Freeform people are idiots). I had some trouble following along with the story as the plot seemed very thin and there were quite a few holes (why did he go after Alex Rocco's character? How did Vince end up in that dungeony thing? Why did Timmy have to die?). Of course, I was busy making jewelry items so I may have missed some details but overall, I just couldn't wrap my mind around what was happening. Some of the dialogue was thin, and the concepts just weren't super feasible, even for a horror movie. I will say, the ending was surprising, but again, I just didn't understand the whole concept. Who were Zach and Shawn in another life? They showed them in a different time, but how did they become evil? So much could have been explored in more backstory, but with a runtime of 141 minutes, there really wasn't a whole lot to expand upon. My favorite part of the movie besides the music at the end was seeing Carey Elwes, which had been a surprise to me when I turned it on. Watch it on demand if you're interested, so you don't pay money for it, and hell, even fast forward to check out the hauntingly beautiful end credit music.

Zach (Dash Williams/Dominic Sherwood) has bad realistic dreams as a child and is uncontrollable. Thirteen years later he is an adult in law school living with Shawn (Charlbi Dean Kriek). His dreams come back and people around him start getting hurt, raped, and killed.Zach has psychological problems, but things happen not related to the illness. The film drops lousy clues. They explain the plot in the last eight minutes, turning it into a WTF production, and not a "see how clever we are" ending. I won't say the ending ruined the film, it wasn't that great to begin with. Where did grandpa get that shiny chain and what did he attach it to? Guide: F-word, sex, rape. No nudity.

I'm pretty surprised with the talent of actors like Elwes, DiMatteo and Alex Rocco of "God Father" fame would be in a film with such a stupid plot and terrible, Total "B" class production value. This is not to say any of these actors are top notch Hollywood "A" listers. They are, however, talented and have been in some very good films and TV shows.That said, this is simply one of yet another non-relevant mediocre at best, attempt to delve into a Horror story that tries to be different. Let's face it, it's not the easiest task of creating a "new" type of horror film that has not been done in one way or another 100's X's over. But, every once in a while a really good new film comes out that does manage to be original despite using formats already used many times. (Sinister, The Conjuring, Paranormal activity, Saw, Hostel Deliver us from evil etc)....It seems as though anyone with a few bucks and a decent camera can write, produce, direct and sell crap dressed up as scary and unique yet, us Horror and Thriller fans pay (with time and $) hoping we find something worth telling your friends about. They are few and far between. If you do tell anyone about this film in the form of a recommendation, make sure you say "steer way clear".Don't Sleep is no different. Acting was way below par surprisingly. One caveat, in defense of Cary Elwes, he is only in a few scenes. Direction was all over the place and the flashback scenes made no sense. Frankly, it was a boring film that I had to struggle to get through. The makeup (for the Demons/Ghosts?) was akin to something you would expect from a 10 year old kid showing up at your door on Holloween. Yes, it really Is that bad.I don't like writing spoilers in any of my reviews and won't do that now, although I should and save you all a lot of wasted time and $. The name of this film should have been "Do sleep"! And there should have been a recommendation at the beginning of the film advising to do just that for the next 97 minutes rather then a quote from Nitsche, which was, BTW, the best part of the film.Go and rent ANY of the films I mention above if you want to see an original, worthwhile film that will put a fright into you.

***Beware this content may contain spoiler **Nowadays it's hard to find a good horror thriller but I was lucky enough this movie didn't disappoint me. It gave me what I am looking for?" If a demon were to steal after you in your loneliest loneliness.. Would you not curse the demon who spoke thus or would you answer, 'You are a god & never have I heard anything more divine." ----Friedrich Nietzsche (1882)Story begins with a young boy who is afraid of dark. In his sleep he saw nightmares someone going to take him. He was restless. His mother was concerned about him so she Called a doctor. Doctor started to consult with him as I mentioned he was having this nightmare very often.I thought this would lead a revenge type self surviving movie but it was something else. It was such a mystery. I don't wanna spoil it by revealing the mystery.As the boy become a man went to honeymoon with his girlfriend. They were happy. His friend came to visit once everything was fine since the neighbor Mr. Marino lost his dog. One night he heard a sound he followed the path & found the dog it was dead. That time a demon possessed him. Later he committed suicide by hanging himself through a chain. He was saying, I wrote my own life I will not join with you demon, You rot in hell. Who was that demon??As the mystery continues demon gradually attacked everyone & killing them. Who is that demon? What mystery beneath? watch this movie. You gonna love it.A must watch film for horror, thriller lovers. Beware it's a scary movie.