Sleepless (2001)

"Sleepless" is a standard whodunit, with some extra Argento gore and some nice little stylistic touches. It tells the story of a serial killer, the "Dwarf Murderer", who's murders begin again, either by him or a copycat. Years ago, he killed Giacomo's (Stefano Dionisi) mother, and so he has returned to help discover the killer. Ulisse Moretti (Max Von Sydow), is a retired detective who worked on the original "Dwarf Murders" case. Drawn back into the case, he attempts to solve the crime.

The whole cast performance fairly well, with Sydow, as usual, stealing the show every time he is on screen. Most of the young actors perform solidly, although there are a few performance that are just awful, and Giacomo's friend Lorenzo, played by Roberto Zibetti, is just annoying.

The movie is flashy and gory, following Argento's traditional style. In an era when most movies are indistinguished in their style, Argento stands out, with Hitchcock-like visuals and plot themes. Most of the murder scenes are incredibly gory, but I didn't really feel they were to the point that they were overdone.

While "Sleepless" is nothing that will be considered a classic, it tells a solid story, wraps itself up with a good ending, necessary for this type of movie, and impresses the audience with its visuals and style.

*** out of ****

Fmovies: A retired detective gets involved on a case which he was in charge of 17 years ago, about a grisly killer known as 'the dwarf' that killed people in a small part of town and now it's happening again, though this time his working with a son of one of the original victims. 'The dwarf ' was found dead after those murders 17 years agoÂ… so could it be him from beyond the grave or a copycat?

This a pretty decent murder/mystery film by Dario Argento, I wasn't expecting much- but what I saw it was above average. With his usual flair of over the top blood and gore, stunning photography, the soundtrack by 'Goblin' really gives it an added boost and the usual unexpected twists and turns, make this film worth a look after his earlier disappointments.

It has a superb opening half-an hour of terror that is truly haunting and eerie. Though It does sag a bit in the middle of the film, losing a bit of the steam and the menacing atmosphere fizzles out- though that's when we start to learn more about the story, with clues coming thick and fast and then it picks up in the upbeat and unpredictable last half hour, where the final twist will have you on the edge of your seat with disbelief. What I liked was that the killer uses nursery rhymes from a specific book to pick their next victim, which I thought was pretty ingenious and disturbing, especially since the victims have something to associate them with the animals in the nursery rhymes.

Though the plot might have certain flaws, one being it's one -dimensional characters and secondly at times it was pretty convenient that the killer was at the right place at the right time- but otherwise it makes up for it with it's swift and creative deaths: that truly come out of left fieldÂ… you cant go wrong with that opening scene on the train and at the station, with the hysteria and tension of isolation that builds up throughout that scene.

Though the death scenes might turn off certain viewers- but not if your fan of Argento, as a lot of detail goes into them and so did the setting of the film- it was beautifully shot. The performances are below average; they were kind of lacklustre or either over the top, though with the exception of Max Von Sydow, who brings a lot of class as the retired detective.

An entertaining Giallo film!

3/5

I'm still sort of new to Argento's films but I found this film of his to be one very solid effort. The first half has this very unusual tone and atmosphere that makes you feel both uncomfortable and creeped out at the same time. The death scenes in my opinion are more tense here than in some of his older films.

The acting is very good although the occasional dubbed voice causes some actors to look like their facial expressions almost don't match their voices.

One outstanding feature is the cinematography. The camera constantly moves around and many of the settings are lit up just right enough to create it's atmosphere.

Overall, it's a very well made and solid gaillo from Argento and is well worth the effort even for fans of the genre and not necessarily Argento.

Sleepless fmovies. With his newest giallo "Non ho Sonno" Dario Argento proves again that he is the best Italian horror/suspense director."Non ho Sonno" is basically about a killer who murders women and leaves the police always a clue:a paper-cut of an animal(e.g.cat,rabbit).The killings are based on a children's poems,and the murder spree started back in 1983,stopped abruptly after three killings,and continues 17 years later.Many people complain about acting,but I don't care.In my opinion the cast is pretty good,and the characters are well-developed."Non ho Sonno" is also Argento's most violent and sadistic work to date.The gore is pretty extreme and there are some really ghastly murder scenes like one where the victim gets her head bashed against the wall-it really hurts watching that!Anyway if you like the works of Italian maestro Dario Argento,you'll love "Non ho Sonno".9 out of 10.

I must admit that have seen all Dario Argento's films and the last 3 ones were very disappointing. Being his fan I could not miss his last effort specially when I noticed that the myths since the time of "Profondo Rosso": The Goblin, were performing the soundtrack.

Dario Argento is back to the old typical thriller structure: a serial killer with a nonsense-rhyme for kids is the leitmotiv of all the homicides in a very wet and scary Turin.

The characters are well performed specially by the "bergmanian" Max Von Sidow. Chiara Caselli and Stefano Dionisi are fine and the first 20 minutes of film are an example of very high level cinema -the scenes shot in the train are icing- The soundtrack is less electronic than in the past with some elements of heavy metal.

Rating: 5/10

I had doubts about the quality of this movie as I had heard many people say his recent movies have been of poor quality. My doubts were shattered after the first 20 minutes. After a dazzling (somewhat) double murder Argento proves that he still has it and that he can still make an old-fashioned giallo as good as always. 'Sleepless' features the black-gloved killer, gorgeous camera-work, visceral and stylish gore and a knockout twist that Argento never fails to deliver. And to top off what I've said, legendary actor Max Von Sydow gives an outstanding performance as the main character, Ulisse Moretti. Moretti is a retired detective emerging once again to confront a series of killings which link to another series of killings 17 years ago. The suspect "The Dwarf" died way back then, so who could be killing again? Teaming up Giacomo (Stefano Dionisi), whose mother was killed by "The Dwarf" when he was a child, Moretti tries to solve these recent slew of murders and put to rest the case forever.

From the opening, where we have an intense murder on a train, to the end, where the killer is finally revealed and Max Von Sydow recites a nursery rhyme (which is relevant to the plot) over the credits Argento uses his trademark styles to keep us on the edge of our seats. From his masterful direction, Goblin's always excellent score and the incredibly brutal murder sequences 'Sleepless' is Dario's best movie since Opera. The atmosphere throughout is kept at an intense level, although Argento focuses a lot on the story, which is hardly a bad thing (if anything it's better) and the story unfolds at an excitingly nail-biting pace.

However, like many of his movies, the acting by a few is subpar but that's something that many fans of Argento come to expect and even if you're not it shouldn't matter. With a great Goblin soundtrack, an engaging plot and plenty of yucky gore what else could you want? 4½/5