User Reviews

THE SLEEPER is a low-budget horror movie with a very basic plot about a serial killer who stalks a bunch of (female) college students. Yes, there are hundreds of movies with plots just like that but the fact that the movie is set in the 1980s is unusual for a low-budget production. The movie is actually not as bad as many of the negative reviews might suggest, but you have to keep in mind that this is a $30,000 production with mostly unexperienced actors. I guess most people who rated this movie low had their expectations set too high. They probably expected more of a plot, which is not really that important of an element in this movie. It's the way the story is presented effectively and evocatively on a very limited budget and with a cast of amateur actors that is intriguing.

Director Justin Russell and his crew did get a lot of things right to make this look like a typical 1980s horror flick. The pre-credit scenes and the opening titles in particular look like they could be straight out of a vintage slasher. The look of the rest of the movie falls short in a way, though, which can be attributed to the fact that it wasn't shot on film. THE SLEEPER could probably pretty much look like a movie from the decade it tries to recreate if they had shot it on real film stock instead of digital cameras. Ti West shot THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL (2009), which also takes place in the early 1980s, on 16 mm film and he managed to make it look exactly like a film from that period. If the producers of THE SLEEPER could have afforded to shoot on film, this movie would look a lot better and the vibe would be completely different. This digital footage just looks too clean and not film- like, which is not right for the time period. Therefore, you never really can fully appreciate the images shown in this movie because the look of the digital footage is quite distracting in many scenes. Nevertheless, they did the best they could with the very limited budget, I guess. Maybe the look could have been improved with the right filters, but I don't know about that.

A number actors from the cast are quite good even though they seem to be amateurs who do not pursue acting as a career. It's nice to see real-looking people in a movie for a change. I'd like to see more acting performances from these people, but for many of them this is the only movie they've done so far. I especially liked Jenna Fournier's performance. She is mainly a musician and painter, it seems, but I think she should act more. She has talent.

All in all, this is an enjoyable movie for fans of 1980s slasher movies. It has a good cast and most of the killing scenes are quite inventive and well done with nice practical effects. Yes, the movie is lacking an elaborate plot, and, yes, the movie should have a different, more film-like look, but if you can see over those issues and keep the limitations of low-budget productions in mind, you have an ambitious horror movie that was clearly made by fans of the genre for fans of the genre.

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

"The Sleeper" is a faux lost '80s slasher that wants to have an old school vibe. Unfortunately, the gimmick doesn't work. If the filmmakers wanted this to look like a horror movie from 1981, why not shoot on stock available at the time? The digital aspect is too polished and, aside from the opening credits, only adds to the sad fact that nothing looks like it's from the 1980s.

However, this movie will always be remembered for one reason. There's a disco/rap line dance that's so excruciating you'll have to see it to believe it. This scene is worse than the party fiascos in "The Howling: New Moon Rising" and "Birdemic: Shock and Terror." In the end, this movie will stay in the public conscious, but for all the wrong reasons.

The Sleeper is one of the WORST movies I've ever seen! Everything about is horrible ...... lame acting, bad script, non-existent explanations. It's almost as if some child wrote the script and directed the movie! Even if it was a low budget movie, it's no excuse for it to be so awful. A lot of girls and boys die, but no one in the community even discovers any of the bodies even if some of them are in public places. There's not even a single bit of info on the killer's past or why he kills. There is no redeeming feature in the movie at all. If you watch it till the end, you might even feel like throwing rotten tomatoes or rotten eggs at the screen! Giving even 1/10 is an act of mercy.

One of the least interesting slashers I've ever watched. I saw this maybe two weeks ago and I had to skim through it again just to remember anything that happened. Some Ray Liotta-looking goof goes after college girls for no reason. It's low budget, but this one has even less imagination than the average crapfest.

The Sleeper is a slasher killer film that attempts to capture the feel of late 70s early 80s slasher. Very specifically it emulates the 1970s film Black Christmas. While I actually love the painfully cheesy scenes like the girls playing basketball and the way too long choreographed discover dance scenes, the film is brought down by a total lack of character depth and predictable and stupid character actions that serve no purpose. Additionally while I appreciate the subtlety of the Era piece not shoving pop culture references down our throat as shows like Stranger Things and Fear Street do, the outfitting and hair styles of the characters could easily be mistaken for the 90s or today.

Shame really, the plot was good

However the whole thing was spoilt by the most appalling acting I have ever seen and that includes amateur productions. It was wooden throughout and one felt like they wanted to shake the cop up to bring him alive.

I agree with the last op, there were many holes in it and the script was just dreadful. Why on earth would a cop ask a frightened girl to walk alone from one house to another with a serial killer on the loose. As if that wasn't enough, he later sent her out in the dark alone to go and get help.

Hunting a serial killer and only a couple of cops on the job? PLEASE

I could go on but unfortunately there is not much more to comment on, the substance was that bad. If course when you see the credits you begin to understand why it was so bad. All family made and friends hired to do the writing and acting. I would be surprised if the budget was more than $200,000,,,it really was that bad.

Those that wrote in the good reviews here are probably connected to the movie team,,,"" Great Acting"",,,yeah right, maybe they were watching a different movie than I did

I gave it 1 point and that was only because it is not possible to give minus marks

The Sleeper is an homage to those slasher films of the 1980s. I attended a screening of the film at the Grandview Theater in Columbus, OH a couple nights ago and a large crowd had showed up for the Ohio film makers who shot this thing in Springfield, OH. Set in 1981, the film follows a sorority house whose pretty young members and telephoned, stalked and killed by a maniac who likes to sit in the basement, drawing things on their photographs and muttering incoherently to himself. He calls up the house from time to time to let those on the other end who is next victim will be. For a very low budget movie ( the campus is virtually deserted and there are few extras in the film), this came out pretty well. The acting is not cringe worthy and The Sleeper's kills are pretty effective and gruesome in some cases. Full of all the clichés and lapses in character logic that the 80s slashers were infamous for....right up to the not-so-shocking final scene, which makes no sense plot wise, but is tacked on because that is what's expected from these films. During the Q&A after the film, the director said there was distribution deal at the moment, but hopefully some DVD label will pick this up.

Justin Russell, after providing us with the 70's grindhouse throwback Death Stop Holocaust, has now popped up in the 80's with the slasher throwback, The Sleeper. Now, I was able to acquire the box set featuring a VHS copy. You might ask, was this basically the DVD release only now I have to rewind it? The answer my friends, is absolutely NOT! The VHS version was the way this film is meant to be watched. Dark, grainy, with the occasional white static pop, I was taken back to my childhood. That's a rare thing.

The film itself is a simple one. Sorority sisters and frat guys get picked off by a mysterious, milky eyed stalker. OK. Now you're prepared! Now, sit and enjoy yourself! That's the way our beloved 80's slashers were meant to be viewed, so why should this film be any different?! Don't over think it! It's OK to have fun! The cinematography is spot-on, never venturing into "too dark" territory. This leads me to the lighting. Very practical lighting was used and this totally ups the atmosphere. No over the top, technical lens flairs... Simple, effective light sources. The music is top notch, never being too much. Several times, the best music was when there was none! Mr. Russell understood this and used the music where it was best suited for the scene. Just watch the auditorium scene...

The Sleeper is not a perfect film, but then again, tell me an 80's slasher that ever was! That's the beauty of a film like this. Justin Russell set out to make a fun, 80's slasher and in my opinion, he succeeded. I'll take The Sleeper over any half-assed, 10 million dollar star-studded remake any day of the week.

If you are a fan of 80's slashers, you will enjoy this film. This is your opportunity to kick your feet up, relax, and have a good time. Be sure to bring your friends...

For fans of: HALLOWEEN, PROM NIGHT, HE KNOWS YOU'RE ALONE, THE PROWLER, BLACK Christmas, THE HOUSE ON SORORITY ROW, and THE INITIATION.

Slasher throwbacks are tricky. Very few people can get it right, but The Sleeper just about succeeds. In some ways, it really does feel a lot like an 80's slasher flick. The acting is a mixed bag, the cinematography isn't too bad, and the synth score is great.

The story is nothing special, but it's told fairly well and there's a few attempts at suspense. If I was going to compare it to the other classic horror films, I'd say it's a mix of Black Christmas, He Knows You're Alone, and Final Exam. If you liked those, you might like this one.

Perhaps The Sleeper is a casualty of the You Tube generation...the perception that simply copying something and broadcasting it is "art".

It's either that or a very poor attempt at a film school exercise. It's almost mind-boggling how low Mr. Russell's standards seem to be...could one set a lower bar for oneself, not to mention all the other people who wasted time and money on this? Consider that there's not one shred of this movie not cribbed straight from a better '80s horror flick. Oh, but wait...this is an "homage" isn't it? Wrong. This is a sloppily glued collage that adds up to nothing and goes nowhere. There is no decent acting, script, plot...even the staging is not suspenseful in the least.

All it has going for it is a nicely creepy "look" that owes something to the photography and the production design. That's it.

Yes, I know there were tons of movies almost as bad that were made in the late '70s/early '80s. Why would you want to make a copy except to say "isn't this clever"? To say "I can color in the lines"? Big deal.

A generic slasher-horror drama. Basic, unoriginal plot, weak performances, low production values. The special effects are incredibly, and surprisingly, bad for a 2012-made film.

And go back, way back, into the 1980s. If you can do that, you will watch a movie that is kind of a throwback into the time where there were no cell phones and bad acting was acceptable. Although I reckon it still is to a degree at any time. But take this, which very obviously has taken notes from Slasher movies from the past and runs with them.

You can quote Black Christmas, Halloween and others (yes I know they originated in the 70s) and make a similar movie. This is the result, with some neat effects, all reminiscent of the practical effects you may love from the movies back then. The editing feels like it's from back then and there is even a scene of nudity. A lot of blood and a lot of nonsense ... sounds intriguing?

There are certain movies that you instantly put on your wish list as soon as you discover their existence. In my case, shallow as it may sound, this reflex largely depends on the cover art illustration. I have a weakness for horror movies with vintage posters, kind of like how they all looked in the raunchy seventies and lurid eighties. When coincidentally stumbling upon the IMDb page of "The Sleeper" a few months ago, with its poster image that bears a lot of resemblance with such films as "Don't Go in the House", "Black Christmas" and "The Dorm that Dripped Blood", and simultaneously reading that writer/director Justin Russell intends to bring a throwback to the typically sorority-slash movies of that same era, the film immediately climbed up in my must-see list. I still love 80's horror, many of my friends still love 80's horror and apparently a lot of people across the globe still love 80's horror, as this glorious decade continues to inspire young filmmakers in the genre. After seeing the film I can safely say that Justin Russell knows the classics, the tricks and the do's and don'ts of 80's horror and, despite of many people (semi-righteously) complaining that "The Sleeper" looks overly polished and nearly not raw and sleazy enough, I feel that he hit the exact right tone in terms of atmosphere, photography and editing. The plot is rudimentary and straightforward, like it ought to be. The year is 1981 and the cute and lewd sisters of the Alpha Gamma Theta sorority are being harassed and brutally slain by a crazed stalker. This pervert sits around his lair, drivels and drools over the girls' photographs and petrifies them with obscene phone calls. As soon as they're dumb enough to separate themselves from the group, whether to shower or go to the gym, the "sleeper" (nicknamed this way because he puts the girls to sleep and marks their pictures with "ZZZ") sees his chance to sadistically massacre them with a hammer or various other garden tools. That's the plot! Isn't it lovely? Naturally there are some massive flaws to detect in the script as well. The pacing is overall too slow and irregular and several of the intentional "spoof" moments miss their effect, like the ridiculous musical/line dance sequence. The defaults are, however, widely compensated through the extremely gross (and deliciously campy) make-up effects, the raunchy atmosphere of long lost misogynic slashers and that irresistible 80's vibe that all the cast members so vividly translate to the screen. The clothes, the hairstyles, the teenage slang … It all makes perfect sense and catapults you straight back to the eighties. Personally, I even liked the bad aspects of "The Sleeper" because the vast majority of 80's slashers were, in fact, bad but tremendously enjoyable efforts. If you're still not convinced, then please give the movie the benefit of the doubt if it were only for the soundtrack provided by Gremlin. If this band, obviously inspired by the Italian cult band Goblin, doesn't spark your sense for 80's nostalgia, nothing ever will...

This film is obviously trying to use the 80's style Slasher movie script. But in my mind it tries too much and fails. I know the 80's horror movies didn't need much of a script or much in the way of acting but this movie actually doesn't make any sense. I asked the questions "why is this guy after these girls" and "what is his reason for killing them"? I was hoping that by the end it would at least answer those questions, and I was wrong. You're left not knowing who 'The Sleeper' (the killer) is or why he is after these particular girls (yes I know that movies like 'FRIDAY THE 13th' and HALLOWEEN' had a bit of the same thing but at least they had a back story as to why these people were being killed). As for the acting, not good. I'm not sure if thats what they were trying for or if it was on purpose. If it was bad on purpose then they did a good job, but it looked like it was bad by mistake to me. And as for the killings, they were at least better than the storyline but you didn't get to see the actual action of the kill shots, it kind of cut to the aftermath each time, which was annoying, as an avid horror fan I wanted to see the hammer smash in to the girls head with blood squirting out. So I give this movie a 3 out of 10, only because they had a good idea (the 80's thing), but they didn't do it right.

You know the expression "they don't the make em' like they used to"? Well, that's not entirely true in this case. I am an an avid horror fan, and I adore the 80's slasher genre. Many films attempt to emulate the look and vibe of this genre, yet fall so far in their attempts. Justin Russell and his GammaKnife films production crew absolutely nailed almost every element of what an 80's slasher embodied. The look, tone, dialogue, and music. The killer "The Sleeper " was brilliantly portrayed. The gore was fantastic!There were flaws and questions left unanswered ... but in almost every slasher from that time period this seemed to be the case. If you're a horror fan, you need to own "The Sleeper" in your collection.

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