Don't Go to Sleep (1982)

Why so much hype?

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The movie is surprisingly subdued in its pacing, its characterizations, and its go-for-broke sensibilities.

Phillip and Laura (Dennis Weaver and Valerie Harper) and the kids, Kevin and Mary (Oliver Robins and Robin Ignico) are moving in to their new house. Surprise! Laura's peevish mother, Bernice (Ruth Gordon) has beat them there, and is already moving her belongings in, much to Phillip's exasperation! Bernice brings more than just inconvenience along w/ her. She puts up pictures of Jennifer (Kristin Cumming), her older granddaughter who was lost in an accident. In no time, Mary is visited by a mysterious presence, while woo-woo music plays. Then, a near tragic "accident" occurs. This is only the beginning. Has Jennifer returned from the grave? If this apparent specter is to be believed, then Jennifer was one wicked child! Can death be far off? Nope. In this movie's case, it's true that no one is safe! DON'T GO TO SLEEP is a spook-tacular, made-for-TV movie full of possible possession, ghostly goings on, and insanity. Beneath the supernatural trappings, it's also a story of guilt, remorse, and haunting memories. How does anyone move on from a tragic loss, while believing they're somehow responsible for it? For a TV movie, this is very grim stuff! Weaver and Harper play the shattered parents well, and Ms. Gordon adds her signature gusto -w/ extra vinegar!- to her character. Robin Ignico is believable, and Oliver Robins pretty much reprises his POLTERGEIST role. EXTRA CREDIT FOR: The "watermelon" and "Bathtub-blackout / pizza cutter" scenes... P.S.- Do not miss the epilogue!...

watch-movies-online.TV has a copy of this movie. It is amazingly done especially for its time and TV-movie status. I first saw this movie when I was 7 or 8 years old and all I remembered was bits and pieces. I have looked and looked for a way to find even the title to this movie. I talked to movie buffs and finally entered the correct key words into google search and found a summary that fit my memory. I then began looking for a copy of this movie, and though it definitely should have been, it wasn't released on video. today a friend introduced me to the website above and for giggles and hahas I looked to see if it had this movie. It did and after watching it again, I found that it was not just my age that made this movie scary. It is a genuine suspense/thriller.

Judging by the unspectacular synopsis and unremarkable VHS cover art, "Don't go to Sleep" looks like one of those random and unremarkable made-for-TV thriller/horror films of the early eighties, but it actually becomes a pleasantly surprising and rewarding experience when you finally decide to give it a viewing chance. This is a genuinely creepy, hugely atmospheric, convolutely scripted and originally themed thriller with astonishing acting performances from the entire cast (including the children) and a couple of jump moments you aren't likely to forget throughout your whole life. There isn't any gore or sleazy here, since it's a TV-movie, but the solid screenplay all the more proves that not a single drop of blood is required in order to saddle up the audience with nightmares. The movie begins with a family of four moving into grandmother's big house. Some time earlier, their oldest daughter Jennifer died in a horrible car accident and particularly the other daughter, Mary, had a rough time processing the loss. Already the first night, it seems as if the restless and furious spirit of Jennifer rudely attempts to get into contact with Mary through eerie noises and even by setting her bad on fire. Apparently Jennifer blames her entire family for her untimely death and seeks vengeance through her little sister. Or perhaps it's just Mary who still hasn't dealt with her death and requires urgent psychiatric help? With "Don't go to Sleep", director Richard Lang builds up slowly but surely towards a devastating and indescribably tense climax that literally left me speechless. Throughout the middle section there are a few loose ends and slightly incoherent sequences, but the last 15 to 20 minutes are sheer adrenalin rushing creepiness. Even the inevitable and necessary dose of melodrama – following the death of another young child – is extremely well handled and plausible. The movie owes a lot of its power and impact to the terrific performances of the entire cast, and particularly of the three child actors depicting the family's offspring. Usually, child characters in horror tend to be very annoying and even prevent the films from being shocking, but that definitely isn't the case here. Oliver Robbins (the kid from "Poltergeist") is more than decent as the sister-teasing brat son, and Robin Ignico and Kristin Cummings are both tremendous as the deadly girls' duo. Never knew little girls wearing traditional dresses could be this scary! If you're a real thriller/horror buff, don't sleep before you track down a copy of this marvelous film!

For those who are critical of this movie, I want to REMIND them that this movie was extreme and excellent for its TIME. I'm so happy I found the title and just like so many of you, I saw it as a kid, my eyes bugged out at the under the bed scene and when she wielded the pizza cutter AT HER MOTHER (OMG!) haha! and for months, couldn't get it out of my head, so I clicked "old horror pizza cutter" into my search engine until I found the title!! YAY! It cracks me up on how many of us were kids when we saw it and how most of us probably didn't sleep right for a few nights- too funny!I would LOVE to see a remake in today's special effects!! The plot was excellent, effects..well it was the 80's and the best thing we ever had was E.T. and pac man. Other stuff that made its impression on me, was the mini-series V (sadly it looks too fake now to be pulled in) that series with that family who traveled thru out the galaxy- have to still look that title up, oh and there's others. The Twilight Zone and Outer limits were always good for freaking me out. Good stuff!