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Dead Sleep

  • 1990
  • R
  • 1h 26m
IMDb RATING
4.7/10
354
YOUR RATING
Dead Sleep (1990)
Dead Sleep: I Want Us To Get Back Together
Play clip1:54
Watch Dead Sleep: I Want Us To Get Back Together
1 Video
22 Photos
MysteryThriller

Young nurse investigates suspicious deaths in a psychiatric ward.Young nurse investigates suspicious deaths in a psychiatric ward.Young nurse investigates suspicious deaths in a psychiatric ward.

  • Director
    • Alec Mills
  • Writer
    • Michael Rymer
  • Stars
    • Linda Blair
    • Tony Bonner
    • Andrew Booth
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    4.7/10
    354
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Alec Mills
    • Writer
      • Michael Rymer
    • Stars
      • Linda Blair
      • Tony Bonner
      • Andrew Booth
    • 9User reviews
    • 5Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Dead Sleep: I Want Us To Get Back Together
    Clip 1:54
    Dead Sleep: I Want Us To Get Back Together

    Photos22

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    Top cast39

    Edit
    Linda Blair
    Linda Blair
    • Maggie Healey
    Tony Bonner
    Tony Bonner
    • Dr. Jonthan Heckett
    Andrew Booth
    • Hugh Clayton
    Christine Amor
    • Sister Kereby
    Sueyan Cox
    • Kaye
    Brian Moll
    • Dr. Shamberg
    Vassy Cotsopoulos
    • Thena Fuery
    Peta Downes
    • Jessica Sharp
    Craig Cronin
    • Dr. Lark
    • (as Craige Cronin)
    Suzie MacKenzie
    • Wendy
    Christina Ongley
    • Debbie
    Bill French
    • Andrew Raffio
    Cameron Watt
    • Administrator
    Dianne Staines
    • Receptionist
    Alan Edwards
    • Mr. Clayton
    Pam Byde
    • Mrs. Clayton
    Etienne Fourie
    • Henry
    Syrling Lyons
    • Mrs. McCarthy
    • Director
      • Alec Mills
    • Writer
      • Michael Rymer
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews9

    4.7354
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    Featured reviews

    8Tera-Jones

    Better Than The Critics Say

    I found this movie better than the critics reviews. It's a horror-thriller. Like most movies, you have to watch them for your self to know if you will like it or not. This particular film I liked.

    Basically, Dr. Jonthan Heckett is a psychiatrist working with a treatment called "Dead Sleep". Maggie Healey (Linda Blair) is a nurse hired in a psychiatric ward who discovers that Dr. Heckett's treatments are not helpful to the patients - in fact, the treatments are quite harmful. Maggie finds herself pulled into investigating the situation.

    The film does have an amount of realism to it... the movie does not give us Dr. Heckett's exact motive but one might guess it's for insurance money - money in his own pocket (along with others that are in on it).

    Apathy for the patients is what most of the doctors and nurses have in the film - yet, as I mentioned above, the viewer is left wondering what their exact motive is.

    The "realism" is the fact that is it possible that a doctor could do such a thing to people... keep them, make up illnesses just for insurance money in their pockets... that is what makes this movie scary and realistic/plausible.

    The ending I did not like - I would have rather seen arrests made but I am assuming that arrests did occur after the film ended.

    Good late night film.

    8/10
    5gavin6942

    Another Cheesy Linda Blair Film

    A young nurse (Linda Blair) investigates suspicious deaths in a psychiatric ward.

    I am not sure why after "Exorcist" it seems that Linda Blair ended up in cheesy films alongside David Hasselhoff, or with unknown Italians, or in this "ozploitation" film. I suspect it had something to do with drugs, but why that affected her acting is not clear.

    There are some redeeming qualities to this film, and I think it would be worth a revisit if it was cleaned up an audio commentary was added. While it could never be a cult classic, I suspect Blair has interesting stories to share about this film and it would be good to get someone (Shout Factory?) to collect them.
    8riverflows

    Great midnight flick

    I saw this movie from netflix because most Linda Blair movies are not in video stores and I'm glad I did. I think Linda is a great actress and she is not bad to look at either. I think she is very underrated. I would love to see her make another big Hollywood hit. It would be awesome to see her have a comeback. My mom actually saw her at a teen party back in the 1970's. This movie has story to it and involves all of her character's life and not just the suspenseful parts. It is all around enjoyable and fun to watch at night when your in the mood for and older thriller movie. It's not an A class movie but it is a necessity for Linda Blair fans.
    Dethcharm

    "This Is A Hospital Ward, Not A Gymnasium!"...

    Maggie Healey (Linda Blair) has just landed a job as a psychiatric nurse at the prestigious Elysian Fields Hospital. She soon uncovers a horrible secret, resulting in her quitting her position.

    Oh no!

    Maggie's boyfriend winds up in Elysian Fields for "treatment" and meets with a tragic end, causing Maggie to get her job back. This time, she sleuths around for answers.

    Even diehard fans of Ms. Blair might have a difficult time with her Pollyanna / snoopy-pants character. Still, the story's good with some suspenseful moments...
    3blurnieghey

    Crikey, this is boring......

    As a general rule, when I'm looking for a movie to watch, all I need to see is the word "Australia" in the description of the movie to know enough to keep looking. No offense to any Australians out there, mind you, and if watching padded-out, wordy, tepid, boring flicks with minimal action rocks your world then more power to you, although if you guys drink as much as the characters in this film do, that might have something to do with it. Anyways, I love Linda Blair and I find her quite cute and a talented actress with charm that lights up whatever B-movie junk she finds herself thrust into, but I knew she'd be put to the test in lighting up a garbage Australian flick before I even hit play and, arguably, this is one of the lesser films I've seen her in.

    While I wouldn't describe this film as being entirely awful, it is predictable to where you know exactly what is going to go down before you are even 20 minutest into it, making this slow-moving, padded out timewaster that much harder to get through, with 98 minutes feeling like over two hours if you manage to make it that far. The basic premise itself is actually somewhat believable (I don't put anything past what the corrupt healthcare systems in Western countries will do for a buck), but this film can't decide if it is serious or schlock. It is too cheesy to be serious and too boring and toned down to be schlock and, seeing as it is a low-budget flick with middling actors and writers, the correct move should have been to go over the top with the exploitation and have some fun, but no dice. It's about what you'd expect and, sadly, even Linda can't save it.

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    Related interests

    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This film is considered an "Ozploitation" (Australian exploitation) picture.
    • Quotes

      Dr. Jonthan Heckett: We have to help them in spite of themselves.

    • Connections
      Referenced in Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008)
    • Soundtracks
      No Fantasy
      Performed and Produced by "White Knights"

      Composed by Allan MacKenzie

      used by permssion

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • 1990 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Australia
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Dödlig sömn
    • Filming locations
      • Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
    • Production company
      • Village Roadshow Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 26m(86 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby

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