The Sleeper (2012)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

Blistering performances.

"Sleeper" is supposed to be a homage to 80's slasher movies like "The Prowler, Halloween, Black Christmas, Friday the 13th and Prom Night". That explains why it is set in the early "80's. Also why a lot of scenes are copied from several of those classics. However it does not explain the bad points: - Music so annoying you want to turn off the sound more than once. - A dull and slow story that isn't entertaining or even interesting for a minute. - An "albino looking" killer that's supposed to be scary because of some light blue contact lenses. - A cheap and terrible camera/montage crew, which ineptness is really shown during the final chase scenes.I love the slasher genre, but it's more than just a bunch of gory special effects. Sure, "The Sleeper" has a couple of them, they rank from laughable to OK but overall not really convincing. But besides that, this movie has nothing more to offer: bad director, terrible cast without a spark of charisma and the story is avoided of any tension or thrills. Not using your FastForward button is in this case a mission:impossible. Stick to the classics instead or watch "You're Next" if you're looking for a slasher homage.

So many haters and lovers for this return to the original slashers, the heydays beginning in the eighties. Please stop complaining about the way it was filmed and no scratches on the reel and ugly women and no story at all. Let me say this, I enjoyed it and I grew up with the slashers coming out on daily base and I have so many laying here on VHS that never were released and aren't even worth watching but this does. Maybe I agree that the look of the film wasn't really eighties by which I mean, no scratches at all and no too dark passages or bad sound. Face it, if it was filmed in 1981 (the year this flick took place) then it surely would have that look but cameras and technique do progress and it's all HD and DV cams nowadays so to make it look 'old' isn't that simple or you have to add fake scratches afterwards when you are colourgrading or in post production. At least he didn't use to much extra lighting.But back to the flick, it do has all items a slasher should have, it do has a score with equipment outdated made by Gremlin, sounds close to the old Argento giallo's with Goblin, hahaha. That's already an ode to that era. It do has POV shots from the killer, there is a heroin, there is the so needed nudity, everything counts. The acting won't win a BAFTA or an Oscar but the main lead Amy (Brittany Belland) was in her first role and she did well. Maybe the talking at the party is a bit of a wooden acting but overall I do dig it. As I said earlier here and in other reviews, there is more terrible acting out there...To come back on the nudity. I guess reviewers reacting that she was ugly, well, at least it wasn't a two a penny fake tits wannabee, I think the hoi polloi nowadays are used to see C or D cups as fake as it could be. Back in the original eighties fake breasts didn't exist, whatever. It is out there to see and she's do has a normal look, nothing fake here. Someone complaining on the plastic used when one girl is being smashed, for a ultra low budget it was nicely done (editing) and there's a lot of red stuff in it. Not that it is gory but still it works. The killer itself isn't explained why he does the killing and who he is and what is wrong with his eyes. But there are more slashers out without any explanation. I came across this flick because I still searching OOP ex rental exploitation and horror flicks on VHS. The limited package that is available has a VHS (NTSC) and DVD coming in a box that will give old school buffs a hard on. With a trailer, really made old school for a non existing horror.A nice slasher with all elements included to make it a slasher. it isn't perfect but it is above average. And no, I have nothing to do with this flick. I just review in a honest way, I even don't live in the US. Pick it up today.Gore 3/5 Nudity 1/5 Effects 3/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

Look, I appreciate anyone who puts themselves out there to make something, but this was just terrible.We all know that 80's slasher movies are notoriously absurd...the only way you can successfully "pay homage" to them is as a parody, which this is not. This attempts to be a serious horror/slasher flick but it just doesn't add up.Okay, so in 1979, a random girl is killed at the same sorority house where the present-day (1981) action takes place. No mention of that murder is ever mentioned and actually adds nothing to the plot line.Then a random girl just gets invited to a sorority party for pledges...as a sophomore. I may be wrong about this but don't most sororities only look for freshmen girls as pledges? And where were the other pledges at the party? That was some party though, haha...all 8 of them! I get it, extras are hard to come by, but if this was shot on or near a college campus, it couldn't have been that hard to get "free" labor out of college kids who would get a kick out of being in a movie. Anyway, the main girl and her roommate (apparently a goth girl in 1981...) go and like the place.Meanwhile, "The Sleeper" sneaks in through an unlocked door and waits until everyone leaves or goes to sleep and then kills one of the girls who had recently had sex with her boyfriend. Though when the hammer hits her in the head, her had had magically transformed into an obvious rubber mask...Oh yeah, and he called the house before, crying and saying she would be first.Over the period of the film, the sorority girls are killed in various ways, but its never a surprise. You follow one girl who goes off on her own and we know she is going to get killed. A few other people get killed as well.The ending is just dumb:If you are "securing" a house, wouldn't you lock the doors as your first order of business?And are there really only 4 cops for this town/college? There was no suspense in this film. The part where she is hiding in the auditorium was boring, not suspenseful. You knew exactly when someone was going to be killed. The special effects were amateurish at best.The acting was bad.The nudity was silly. The girl was nice looking but if you are going to have a girl go topless for the obligatory nude scene for an 80's slasher homage, then get someone better. Plus the whole scene was absurd. She takes off her top to make out with the guy for a while and then decides to leave him in the pool to "get dressed." What? Plus there was ZERO discussion of the killer. Who was he? Why was he stalking those girls? How did he elude being spotted when he lived in a basement of a much-used academic building easily accessible by a well- lit staircase? Why did he cry when he called to say who was next? What was up with his eyes?I wanted to be entertained by this movie, but when I'm laughing more than cringing, you know its bad.Watch this ONLY if you have seen everything else...and even then, reading a book or cutting the grass may be better options.

this had all the elements to be a great homage to the 80's but it fails because the acting is god awful and the effects couldn't touch what they did in the 80's with movies like The Prowler and The Burning don't get me wrong i really wanted to love this movie and couldn't wait to see it especially the old school VHS/DVD packaging the movie came in but i was disappointed on so many levels i think it was trying to copy the same element as Slumber Party Massacre but at least those movies had semi decent acting as opposed to the horrible stiff acting in The Sleeper,i'm still very interested to see what the director will offer in the future he had a decent grindhouse homage with Deathstop Holocaust that wasn't bad at all