Sleepless (2001)

Simply Perfect

Just what I expected

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

thank god for dario argento and giallo because the movie world would be poorer place without them my favorites being tenebrae and profondo rosso then came this absolute gem which i saw under the title sleepless and with a combination of dario argento and the legend that is max von sydow this was always going to be excellent and has since taken over as my favorite argento film with its superb storyline great camera work and excellent murder scenes super acting all round especially max von sydow i would be amazed if anybody did not enjoy this film and as always with argento films the music is outstanding and as alway a film that will keep you guessing until the very end a film that i can watch over and over again highly recommended

I actually felt the need to make an account just to submit a review on "Sleepless". I honestly do not believe the current reviews do this movie justice, it is an inconsistent, B-grade, incredibly boring, badly made movie.Every single review on here is either from fans of the director, or Italians trying to support their film industry. This movie is not unique, neither is it interesting, and the acting is terrible.Everything i saw in this B-grade slasher i had seen previously in other, better movies.Yes, I have seen worse, but currently this movie is sitting very low on my list. Nothing interesting happens, the "murder" scenes made me laugh out loud, and the story was absolutely ridiculous.Holy Jesus batman! its a killer dwarf! hes gonna knife us!

Well, as a HUGE Argento fan, I feel a little bad writing a review like this, but I have to say it: this movie wasn't that great. The gore was awesome. I loved the first ten minutes or so, it reminded me of the last ten of "Suspiria." It moves so fast and it's so insane, I felt like I was in for the ride of my life. But then, the train slowed down...way down.As we are introduced to many characters, we get to know a man who is hiding from his past, a past which includes the murder of his mother. He witnessed the event and is severely traumatized by it. There is a retired policeman who thought he solved a murder, but now the murderer is back. I was definitely impressed so far. Then, we get a sappy romance...a lot of boring dialog and misleading events. I had to have some coffee to stay awake through the last hour of the film.In the end, we could have never really guessed who the killer was. It makes pretty much no sense. Actually, it's ridiculous. We find that there are a few cheap shots thrown in on the viewers for good measure and none of it really adds up to anything but a film that is clearly intended to be an impossible-to-figure-out murder mystery. Atmospherically, an enjoyable movie but only for the avid Argento fan. I'd recommend several others before this one. Nowhere near as good as "The Stendhal Syndrome." 5 out of 10, kids.

Not exactly a return to form for Argento, bur certainly a step in the right direction (after several less-than stellar efforts), Sleepless sees the director plundering his 70s and 80s back catalogue to put together what is probably his most satisfying movie since Opera (1987).Max von Sydow plays Moretti, an ex-detective called out of retirement to help assist in a murder case which is somehow connected to a series of vicious killings that took place seventeen years earlier. Has the ghost of Vincenzo, the thriller writing dwarf who was accused of the original murders, returned from the grave to kill again, or is someone else responsible for the grisly deaths?A complicated, and often nonsensical story (just how us giallo fans like 'em) twists and turns like one of Argento's Louma Crane-mounted cameras, delivering many elements that will be very familiar to avid fans of giallo cinema: a black-leather-glove wearing killer; a dwarf; creepy nursery rhymes; prowling camera-work; a Goblin synth/rock score; a spooky mannequin; passages read aloud from books; visual and aural clues; and spectacularly bloody death scenes (courtesy of Sergio Stivaletti).Of course, this is familiar territory for the director, and the man known as 'the Italian Hitchcock' delights in showing his audience that he still has what it takes to dazzle with his visuals, scare with carefully crafted scenes of terror, and repulse with incredibly visceral special effects (multiple stabbings, finger removal, a touch of face-smashing resulting in broken teeth, a severed head, death via musical instrument, and a marvellous bullet through the head). He also throws in some welcome nudity, and even manages to get his daughter yet another movie credit by using some of her 'poetry' in the film (she is responsible for the dreadful children's rhyme The Death Farm).Sleepless isn't unmissable Argento—but it is well worth a look if you get the chance.7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.