SLEEPWALKERS

In a small town in Indiana, Charlie and his mother move in, the last specimens of an ancient race of demons called Sleepwalkers, who, under a human appearance, hide the features of monstrous hybrids between humans and felines. The two monsters, devoted to incestuous practices, can only survive by sucking the vital fluid of young virgins and the only thing that can kill them is the scratch of a cat. When Charlie tries to kill Tanya, a classmate who is in love with him, a hunt for the monster is unleashed that will force the two demons to come out into the open. Based on an original screenplay by Stephen King, "Sleepwalkers" is released during the peak of the crisis period in which horror cinema had plummeted in the first half of the 1990s: few films released in theaters and of poor quality. But this film directed by King's right-hand man Mick Garris (he is also behind the disappointing King miniseries "The Dark Half" and "The Shining"), boasts a fairly original subject, which manages to overlook obvious screenplay holes, and good special effects, including the clever (though somewhat clumsy) look of the creatures, rendered with some cute rubber costumes. The figure of the "Sleepwalker" is quite fascinating: beings halfway between a vampire and a berserker, cruel but also pitiful, as they kill only to feed or to avenge themselves; demons that practice incest to survive, who have a mythology behind them and a moral code. Then the idea of cats being the only ones able to recognize and kill these demons works very well, providing the opportunity to create a series of scenes with dozens of cats, certainly very suggestive. Another strong point of the film is the presence of a good dose of gore, while a weak point can be found in some intentionally ironic and grotesque scenes that end up clashing with the overall result. The direction by Mick Garris is rather diligent, although it does not present particular reasons for interest; while among the cast are Brian Krause (seen in "Return to the Blue Lagoon" and recently in the TV series "Charmed") as Charlie and Madchen Amick (an actress with many horror films to her credit such as "The Headless Man" and "The Dress That Kills" as well as the TV series "Twin Peaks") as Tanya. Furthermore, the film features small cameos by Clive Barker, Joe Dante, Tobe Hooper, John Landis, Mark "Luke Skywalker" Hamill, and King himself. A special mention must certainly go to the soundtrack, which includes the beautiful main theme composed by Enya.