The Sleeping Room

This is a very steadily building thriller that has some great twists in it. Plus, to be honest, it's nice to not watch a movie like this set in an empty insane asylum or a cabin in the woods!

Anyway, I found myself definitely rooting for the "good" people and against the "bad". It is a worthwhile story!

"The Sleeping Room" is the type of film for which I honestly regret only being able to give a mediocre rating 5/10. Not out of malice or just to be different, but because it sadly doesn't deserve any better. The basic plot idea is good and original, the filming locations and set-pieces are terrific and it does contain a handful genuine moments of fright, but overall speaking the film doesn't have a proper pacing and the screenplay severely lacks coherence and logic (particularly towards the ending). I specifically regret my rather low rating because I absolutely love British horror movies set in the Victorian era or referring to the Victorian era, and because director/co-writer John Shackleton is a very sympathetic guy! He was present at the Brussels Festival of Fantastic Films and explained that the inspiration for "The Sleeping Room" came almost spontaneously when he was walking around in Brighton and witnessed the entire authentically creepy Victorian legacy. He's definitely right about that! Whilst renovating an old Victorian brothel, the timed handyman Bill and the troubled prostitute Blue find an antique movie projector that shows an unorthodox little home video made by the original brother owner Fiskin. When exploring the mansion further, because sex didn't work out anyway, they find more sinister things like a double-sized mirror and a secret sleeping room, which was used by the prostitutes to rest in between shifts and where the pioneer snuff-movies where shot. Blue discovers there's a blood link with her own macabre family history, while Bill gradually gets absorbed by the powerful influence of Fiskin's ghost. Oh, and in the meantime they also have to fight off Blue's loathsome pimp Freddie! The mystery Fiskin mansion truly had me captivated and focused, even though it unfolds terribly slow, but then suddenly everything nearly gets ruined because the script reverts to dreadful clichés, like shape-shifting and hallucinations. The primitive snuff footage is unsettling and the killer wears a horrifying mask (although it's just a simple cloth bag, like Jason Vorhees wore in "Friday the 13th Part II") and I counted two or three noteworthy "jump"-moments, but still "The Sleeping Room" left me behind unsatisfied and slightly disappointed. The acting performances are more than adequate, with a strong performance of the ravishing Leila Mimmack and a joyously sleazy part for David Sibley.

I believe this movie was very well received at Frighfest and can be seen why. It was well scripted and camera play was very good. The direction of the movie, looking into taboos and delving in the past and how it could affect the future was an interesting concept.

Action sequences were good and Christopher Adamson was a delight (as always) to see as Fiskin. The film can quite easily be followed but will get you wondering as to what will happen next throughout the movie which is a real plus since its quite easy for me to predict how the movie will turn out and i was pleasantly surprised with this movie

This movie could hugely benefit with a much bigger budget which could bring out an even terrifying experience. Nonetheless a very well directed movie and its great to see our independent movie production companies like Movie Mogul coming to the foray.

For some unaccountable reason I like films about Brighton. This is in part why I gave this one another point or two. The story is sufficiently intriguing to keep your interest but like other reviews point out the end result is confusing and a bit unsatisfying. That said, it is better than too many other horror movies I have watched. At least I saw this one through to the bitter end... or was it?

Everyone involved on camera does a good job if not exceptional but they did their best with what they had... The photography is lovely to create the mood though most of the action is on a stage set I think. The score fits well and the film is for a change not too long.

As an aside you feel that the creators could not resist a couple of homages... look out for a variant from The Shining... and maybe Elephant Man... Also be aware as if it needs saying there are some violent scenes and especially against women but overall it is lower on the gore count which I think counts in its favour. The nudity is mild and swearing flows in an unaffected manner as befitting the context...

A horror movie that for most of its duration didn't feel like a horror movie. The tension builds slowly, almost to the point of boredom, but there's always enough to keep you intrigued. At a point it ratchets up into horror mode but unfortunately doesn't really reward you for your patience. Ultimately quite disappointing.