This flick starts out the October DVD, VOD and Digital HD releases with a psychological thriller that has some cool twists and turns that should surprise even the hardened horror junkies. It’s called Sleep No More and takes you into the labs of a college looking to make a scientific breakthrough. No doubt the film has enough energy that you’ll want to replay the DVD to see what you didn’t catch in the beginning. Adults 17 and up for this Not Rated film.
Noted Dr. Ella Whatley (Yasmine Aker) has been experimenting on sleep deprivation using Rhesus Monkeys for quite some time and has come up with a drug called Cogniphan that will help her cross over to humans. Convincing her small test group comprised of Carter (Lucas Gage), Joe (Keli Price), Frannie (Brea Grant), Dale (Stephen Ellis) and Holly (Christine Dwyer) that they will become rich and famous along with her for being the Guinea pigs in this absolutely safe experiment.
All they have to do is stay awake using the Cogniphan for 200 hours, a period of which will help them to the point of lucidity. At that level they will never have to sleep again. Dr. Whatley tells them that the military can dump their amphetamines forever and use their soldiers more efficiently. She says it can cure a sleep disorder called idiopathic hypersomnia in persons. So beings a bizarre tale that leads to a very scary psychological thriller.
Director Phillip Guzman sets up his audience well with convincing jargon and willing students that are eager to be the first in the medical books on the subject. He uses confined spaces inside the building where the lab is located to give a feeling of claustrophobia, pulls his cameras in for tight shots to show his actors expressions of fear and anxiety and then unleashes his dream stealers called “somnivores” that make his film work.
His mostly unknown actors are surprisingly very good in their roles and make their characters realistic. You can see the changes in them as they put the initial test group through their paces while helping to keep them awake. As each scene gets darker and desperate at times, the cast is up to the task of making it look frightening and creepy.
Sleep No More has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains nudity, sex, violence, language and gore. The film has some excellent special make-up and effects to enhance the gore factor. With this in mind, immature teens should not be invited to watch the DVD until adults have cleared it for them. The DVD, VOD and Digital HD will be available starting October 2, 2018.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A very good film to kick off the Halloween Horror season. (4 out of 5 Stars)
Specifications and additional video information:
Starring: Keli Price, Brea Grant, Stephen Ellis, Christine Dwyer, Yasmine Aker, Lucas Gage
Directed by: Phillip Guzman
Genre: Horror
Running Time: 1 hr. 31 min.
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, contains
Video Release Date: October 2, 2018
Language: English
Reviewed Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Number of Discs: 1 disk
Distributed by: RLJE Films
Released in: DVD, VOD, Digital HD
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
