Customer Reviews

Don't Go to Sleep [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I remember seeing this on tv as a kid and it freaked me out!!!
A family, parents and two small children move into a new house and soon strange things began happening. first of all the younger daughter sees her older sister who died in a car accident a year ago. the sister tells her to help her get rid of the famiuly for deserting her so one by one they go until only the daughter and one parent are left. what is so creepy about this movie is you never know until the very very end the truth. is this girl nuts and killing her family? or is she really seeing her dead sister? everyone does a good job. valerie harper as the mom, dennis harper as the dad ruth gordon as the grandma. I have seen this several times and each time it is still creepy. see this and dark night of the scarecrow. two classic 80's horrors. these are good creepy horror psychological movies. not [material] they make now like scream and i know what you did last summer!

Why is this movie so darn scary? I don't really know, but it is. I saw this in the early 80's when I was over at my girlfriend's house and I still remember it very well. The last shot in the movie is really a corker. I can only hope this gets released on DVD at some point. I'm not saying it's the greatest movie ever but there is just something about it that works very well at giving you the willies.

I have read alot written on this flick and recently saw it for the first time. Worthy of all the hype.

The cinematography was outstanding for a TV movie. The story is a great update on The Haunting/The Innocents storyline with above average acting and direction. Great creepy atmosphere and keeps you wondering. A lost TV classic.

It's hard to find on DVD but worth the search if your interest is in the realm of lesser known ghost stories.

Also, if you are interested in lesser known TV or B movies, check out Dark Night of the Scarecrow, Bad Ronald, The Car, Night Terror, and Alligator. These are all far superior films to most of the junk making it to the big screen these days....

I searched and searched for this movie for years and finally found it. What once scared the crap out of me made me laugh. The acting is terrible, for one, and the film itself is very dated. It does have a good basis for a story, but it simply doesn't hold to the test of time. If you saw this one when you were younger, just remember it. Don't try to find it and ruin what you remember.

I'd heard so much about this 1982 TV movie that I decided to seek it out. I finally viewed it online, and I can see why this movie has gotten so much praise by audiences. It's a very well-paced, written, acted and directed piece, miles ahead of many of the TV movies that air today. Is it just me or are the television movies of the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s much better and more entertaining? At first, we don't realize there's more going on beneath the surface of this "typical American family" until about 15 minutes in. We discover then that they are all still coping with a terrible tragedy that occurred the year before. The oldest daughter, Jennifer (Kristen Cumming), was killed in a car accident while the rest of the family survived. The father, Phillip (Dennis Weaver) is clearly a borderline alcoholic who would rather not discuss or deal with what happened, and doesn't want to accept how Jennifer's death affected the children. Mother Laura (Valerie Harper) is far more open-minded regarding the latter but they, along with her mother Bernice (the always reliable Ruth Gordon), are still blaming themselves and to an extent, each other - for what happened. However, most traumatized seems to be Mary (Robin Ignico), the remaining daughter. She hears voices and begins to encounter her sister's spirit - and the two begin to plan revenge on the family. It seems that young Mary was the only one who really loved Jennifer and misses her - at least that is what Jennifer would have us and Mary believe. But as things escalate and fatal "accidents" begin to occur, we begin to suspect that there's more to the story - and there is. The climax is indeed a twist ending that most will not see coming - things are not as they seem. And that alone is enough to recommend this movie.

Young actors Robin Ignico, Kristen Cumming and Oliver Robins (of "Poltergiest" fame, who here plays brother Kevin) are all very natural in their roles - Cumming is both childlike and eerie, Ignico is amazing as Mary (I only remembered her as Duffy from "Annie"), and Robins is totally believable as the annoying younger brother. Valerie Harper rips your heart out as Laura - Dennis Weaver's portrayal is a bit more understated but he also is very good. And what more can be said about Ruth Gordon - she is incredible as the eccentric granny. Director Richard Lang and writer Ned Wynn need more recognition for there work on this film, as do the actors.

I can see why the title is "Don't Go To Sleep" because I sure had a hard time nodding off after watching it! Guaranteed to have the same affect on you.

Now, where is the DVD?

This might be one of the top 25 or 50 scariest movies of all time. In order to rank high, at least in my book, a thriller needs to deliver more than just the brief fright of a maniac jumping out of the dark. It needs to re-define some object or some setting that we took as commonplace before, and to make manifest the danger posed by that thing. It must animate the everyday with evil.

This movie accomplishes that. What "Psycho" did for motel showers - this movie does for pizza cutters. But more than that, it casts a fear in us of becoming the target of revenge - of a remorseless, smiling revenge - more personal, more pointed than "The Grudge."

The movie's title is a misnomer. "Don't Go to Sleep" suggests that this might be some "Elm Street" sequel. And that's not it at all. A better title might have been "The Unforgiven" - but that title has since been taken, so no good considering it now.

Some of the acting here is a little creaky. Valerie Harper isn't at her best. Ruth Gordon reprises the turn she'd been doing as an elderly herky-jerky annoyance since "Rosemary's Baby." She doesn't add anything new to the limited repertoire of mannerisms she perfected in that major motion picture thriller. But the children in this film are outstanding. They exhibit an extraordinary range, mutating from innocence to a chilling determination.

The closing scene is absolutely hair-raising - and will probably haunt you for a long time to come.

This was a made-for-TV movie, and doesn't yet seem to be available in any commercial format. So a copy of it won't be easy to find. But it's worth going to any lengths to hunt down.