Dario Argento fans will be delighted by Sleepless, a return to both the gialli genre (murder-mystery-cum-slasher movie) that made his name and, thank God, to form. As usual, the whodunnit plot, plastic performances (Max von Sydow aside) and woeful dubbing leave a lot to be desired. And as usual, it matters not a jot. Argento's movies are all about the stalk-and-violently-slash set pieces, and Sleepless contains some of his very best. The opening salvo set on a speeding train is particularly magnificent, blending garish lighting, sheeting rain and an electro-rock score by Argento's old favourites, Goblin.
DVD Extras:
An Eye For Horror documentary, Making Of featurette, production stills, trailer, Argento bio and filmography.The standard extras fluff and a half-decent featurette are bolstered by the excellent hour-long documentary, tracing Argento's entire career from co-scripting Sergio Leone's Once Upon A Time In The West to shooting Sleepless. Watch out for priceless contributions from John Carpenter and George A Romero, as well as some unbelievably frank remarks from Argento's daughter, Asia.
