Don't Go to Sleep

It's very interesting to watch a movie you saw as a pre-teen through adult eyes.

It's paced for the two hour time slot a made for TV movie must have, but it's still pretty solid.

It's one of the best TV movies in this genre. It holds up, still scary. So scary, in fact, it's a little hard to believe it IS a network movie.

One would never believe that a made-for-TV horror movie could be any good, but this one is a nice surprise. I didn't see this as a kid, and good thing because I would of never slept again! Creepy and weird! The one down side is that it kind of falls apart towards the end. It goes from being good to being a typical cheesy horror movie. But worth seeing all the same.

Phillip and Laura (Dennis Weaver and Valerie Harper) and the kids, Kevin and Mary (Oliver Robins and Robin Ignico) are moving in to their new house. Surprise! Laura's peevish mother, Bernice (Ruth Gordon) has beat them there, and is already moving her belongings in, much to Phillip's exasperation!

Bernice brings more than just inconvenience along with her. She puts up pictures of Jennifer (Kristin Cumming), her older granddaughter who was lost in an accident. In no time, Mary is visited by a mysterious presence, while woo-woo music plays. Then, a near tragic "accident" occurs. This is only the beginning.

Has Jennifer returned from the grave?

If this apparent specter is to be believed, then Jennifer was one wicked child! Can death be far off? Nope. In this movie's case, it's true that no one is safe!

DON'T GO TO SLEEP is a spook-tacular, made-for-TV movie full of possible possession, ghostly goings on, and insanity. Beneath the supernatural trappings, it's also a story of guilt, remorse, and haunting memories. How does anyone move on from a tragic loss, while believing they're somehow responsible for it?

For a TV movie, this is very grim stuff! Weaver and Harper play the shattered parents well, and Ms. Gordon adds her signature gusto -with extra vinegar!- to her character. Robin Ignico is believable, and Oliver Robins pretty much reprises his POLTERGEIST role.

EXTRA CREDIT FOR: The "watermelon" and "Bathtub-blackout / pizza cutter" scenes. P.S.- Do not miss the epilogue!...

I saw this movie as a kid and was NEVER able to get it out of my mind. A dead girl, Jennifer, comes back to haunt her younger sister, Mary, and the two wreak havoc (in the form of accidents) on the rest of their family. Everyone still blames themselves for Jennifer's death while Mary seems to think that she was the only one who TRULY cared for her. The big shocker occurs as a flashback scene towards the end of the movie where we see who is really responsible for Jennifer's death. This movie makes "Made-For-TV" look extremely good! Poor Oliver Robins from "Poltergeist" fame plays yet ANOTHER brother stuck in the middle of a very unlucky family. So far, I've only seen this movie in one rental store so it IS out there somewhere.

Almost twenty-years later, "Don't Go to Sleep" still haunts me. It is a classic of the made-for-tv thriller genre from the late-70s and early 80s on par with the Charles Durning horror "Dark Night of the Scarecrow", the Parker Stevenson thriller "This House Possessed" and the Donna Mills/Patty Duke campy "Curse of the Black Widow". The most memorable character in "Don't Go To Sleep" is that of Ruth Gordon... but I'll always remember the pool scene. Those who have seen this movie know what I am talking about. Creepy. This is what made-for-tv horror was all about before the Los Angeles Olympics, "The Love Boat", and the laughable Susan Lucci made-for-tv thriller "Invitation to Hell".