Review of Sleepless (2001) by James O — 28 Jun 2011

It seems that whenever Goblin and Dario Argento do a movie, they make cinematic gold. Deep Red, Suspiria, Tenebrae, Phenomena, and more were all great. Now, it's Sleepless. The title refers to a nursery rhyme about a farmer who can't sleep because he thinks animals are his enemies, so he goes out and kills a lot of animals so he can rest.

How the farmer kills the animals is what the murderer is basing his methods of dispatching victims on. The opening murder was truly suspenseful and haunting due to Goblin's amazing score that lingers over the entire film and sets just the right mood.

Once you find out the killer's motives, they're truly insane and actually kind of frightening. The kills are all very brutal, especially a scene where a woman's head is being smashed against a wall.

So far, it's the best recent Argento movie, and it's a step above Do You Like Hithcock?, Trauma, and Mother of Tears (I have yet to see The Card Player). So set aside all doubts about the quality of this one because it's Dario's best film since Opera and truly shows why he IS the Italian Hitchcock.