Hey everyone, PushingUpRoses here and happy spooky month.
Today, we’re looking at another Stephen King movie, and a very special one at that.
The film is called Sleepwalkers and it was the first screenplay King wrote, it wasn’t
adapted from any of his novels or written works.
This was apparently a big deal because the theatrical poster even boasted that fact:
“The First Stephen King Story Written Expressly for the Scream.”
(wah wah) Okay, that might just be some of the worst wordplay ever written, and it doesn’t
hold a candle to the tagline.
“They feast on your fear, and it’s dinner time.”
I feel like this is a parody of a parody of a Goosebumps cover.
I want you to remember this tagline, because it has absolutely nothing to do with the plot.
The poster also might make you believe the film is about evil or monstrous cats, however
that is also not the case.
This movie is already pretty convoluted and the poster is not helping anything.
The movie was released in 1992 and stars Charlie Kraus, Madchen Amick, and Alice Krige, featuring
cameos from Clive Barker, Jonathan Landis, Tobe Hooper, Mark Hamil and Ron Pearlman?
The star of the film is Clovis, The Attack Cat, and yes that is his official title.
Though I must warn you, if you love cats, as I do, you might want to be mentally prepared
to watch this movie.
Though no cats were harmed, there’s a lot of graphic visuals that may be upsetting,
so viewer discretion is advised.
Before we start our break down and riff session, I just want to briefly explain to you what
a sleepwalker is according to the story.
It is not, in fact, someone who wanders around in their sleep.
They are described as an ancient, nomadic tribe of energy vampires with characteristics
of werecats and shapeshifters.
They get their energy from virginal women.
It sounds like I just described an eccentric character from What We Do In the Shadows,
but honestly these characters don’t come across as vampires to me, nor do they remind
me of felines, or any werebeast, honestly; I don’t think enough time was spent on the
mythology of these creatures, and we’ll get to why I feel that way a little later.
Here’s what you need to know about the plot before I gently ridicule this film: There
are only two sleepwalkers left, Mary Brady and her son/lover, Charles Brady.
Yes, you heard me correctly, this film has a lot of grimey werecat incest in it and I
don’t care for it.
Throughout time, the sleepwalkers became ostracized from society until they started to dissolve;
now Charles and Mary hop around the country taking the energy from young girls and ultimately
killing them, while also having an incestuous relationship in order to procreate and keep
their species alive.
However, if you ask me, Charles and Mary seem to be occupied with more than just the idea
of procreation.
Their weakness is the common cat, and don’t ask me why because I don’t know.
We begin in California, at Charles and Mary’s former home, which is surrounded by hanging
and dismembered cats, and I am going to try not to show anything too gorey.
A few cops enter the house to investigate further.
Cop #2: “It looks like the place has been empty for 100 years.”
No it doesn’t, there’s just some blood on the wall, it’s not old and dusty.
What a weird thing to say.
They hear a little cry and discover a cat.
(screech) It’s a witness, stop it!
They also find the corpse of a young girl, wearing a frankly busted looking wig.
Have you ever seen Lifeforce?
This looks like the SAME humanoid prop they used in that movie, and interestingly, the
plots are very similar.
Hrm.
Very interesting indeed.
As the credits roll we are shown documentation and visuals about cats, everything from changelings
to Egyptian Hieroglyphics.
The hell is that.
This looks like an old timey graduation picture of some sort - awww, they all graduated from
Nursing school, how nice.
We transition to our new setting, Travis Indiana, which I thought was the name of a country
singer.
Good old Travis Indiana YEEHAW.
We meet our first antagonist, Charles Brady, who is looking at a photo in a highschool
yearbook.
He then takes a knife and starts carving a T into his arm.
Mmmmm, strawberry jelly.
The T stands for “Tanya.”
Charles meets his mother downstairs and asks her to dance.
Just a friendly little mother-son dance.
Charles: “What’s for dinner?”
Charles, just turn your head and look at the oven, it’s right there.
She asks him where he’s going and he explains he wants to ask a girl out that he saw at
the movies.
She appears jealous, and it’s weird.
This scene lasts for SO long, and it’s so…grimey.
It ends with them going upstairs to hopefully do some crocheting or maybe some other innocent
lil craft.
Meanwhile, at the movies, Tanya dances on the job wearing her VCR sized walkman.
This scene also goes on for FAR too long, maybe the director wanted it to go on to be
something iconic, like the dancing in Risky Business.
Charles interrupts her and spills popcorn in her hair, a charming meet-cute for sure.
She gives him popcorn on the house.
Charles: “You mean, free?”
Tanya: “Shh!”
Wow, you rebels.
I’m sorry, what was this girl’s name again?
Charles: “Tanya.”
Thanks.
As he is walking home, Charles gets a flashlight to the face and WE get this expression!
He looks like the lead singer of Sum 41.
It’s an officer, collecting a cat from the property.
Mary insisted she has severe allergies so someone comes by to take them somewhere, presumably
to a no kill shelter, cause that’s definitely this type of movie, right?
Mary is STRESSED.
Mary: “Goddamn cats.”
Charles: “Don’t swear, mother.”
Oh yes, incest is fine but swearing is totally unscrupulous.
Mary slowly prods Charles about Tanya, all the while pleading for comments about how
beautiful she is, so Charles doesn’t develop feelings for his new victim, and this is the
most intense, boring conversation I have ever heard.
It’s slogging along but every line is delivered with such gravity, it’s making my brain
itchy.
The next day, Charles is reading a poem he wrote about The Sleepwalkers.
It gets a good response.
Tanya: “I liked it.”
A third grade review by Tanya.
The Teacher, Mr. Fallows, is simultaneously impressed and suspicious of Charles, and shows
himself to be a strict, abusive teacher.
(slap) Wow, nice drawing.
Like…did you draw that?
That’s amazing!
Mr. Fallows explains how stories work and Charles makes a snarky quip.
“We all understand that a story must have a beginning, a middle, and an end, right?
But that’s like saying a box has four sides.”
Charles: “Actually Mr. Fallows, a box has six sides.”
I can’t BELIEVE that guy, telling me a box has six sides, I’m gonna throw a cat on
him.
Meanwhile, Tanya and her girls talk about Charles.
Friend: “Did he ask you out or anything?”
Tell me more, tell me more!
After school, Charles gives Tanya a ride home.
Tanya: “WHOA!”
Jumping in through the window, Charles you are just TOO MUCH, what will you do next?!
Turns out Tanya is a bit of an amateur photographer.
She shows him her favorite shot.
Charles: “I like rocks.”
Great.
They are interrupted by Tanya’s mom.
Charles: “Very nice to meet you.”
Mom: “Likewise.”
WHERE YOU HAVING THE SEX?
Tanya’s mom does Graveyard rubbings in her spare time; Charles exclaims he also does
it as a hobby.
Mom incredulously asks him if he uses powder or stick.
Charles: “I use stick, probably a little hard.”
Mom: “Really?
Don’t you find that a little hard.”
Is… this innuendo?
You know Charles has a thing for moms.
On his way home, Charles is stalked by his teacher, who is still salty over that whole
box quip.
He confronts him and says he looked at his school transcripts and found them to be fake.
Charles: “If this is Blackmail, Mr. Fallows, I think you picked the wrong guy.”
You know, his name is Mr. Fallows but all I’m hearing is Phallus.
Instead of confronting the school board, Fallows yells at Charles and slams his hand in the
door.
What is your plan here, my dude?
Charles has had enough of it and tears his hand off.
(gurgling noise) You know what I like about this movie?
It’s subtly.
NEED A HAND?
Charles has now shapeshifted into…this, and kills the teacher.
Yeah just spin the camera around a lot, that’ll make it look chaotic.
Meanwhile, a cop named Andy is playing with Clovis, an appointed attack cat.
Charles speeds past him and Andy follows him, though he gets a run for his money.
HAY!
Heh heh heh.
Charles is so unhinged he nearly runs over a group of children.
(girl turning her head) What was the direction for THIS shot?
Scared!
Concerned!
Listless!
A-HA!
(Sting)
Andy catches up to him and insists he pull over.
Clovis peaks out of the window and scares Charles, triggering him to shapeshift.
Quality graphics, no notes.
On top of being able to shapeshift, Sleepwalkers can also make themselves invisible; in their
species it’s called dimming, and all you need to do is think real hard and look like
you’re constipated.
He manages to do this before Andy catches up to him, but Clovis knows what’s up.
Ah, the ghosts that only I can see!
Charles was also able to shapeshift the car, which has me wondering what the extent of
this power is?
Can he shapeshift other people, entire houses?
Mary is angry that Charles hasn’t brought her the life force she needs to live and starts
smacking him.
Lovers are fickle.
She sees his injury from the car door and he explains his apprehension about being seen
by the cop.
Charles: “It’s happening again, mom.”
My psychotic tendencies are acting up.
Without any kind of smooth transition, we cut to the pair having sex.
Eeew, they are all sticky, did they douse themselves in olive oil before doing this?
A look in the mirror reveals their true forms getting it on, and it looks like two sharpeis
smooshed together.
The next day Mary reminds Charles not to fall in love with Tanya, as he is showing some
affection for her.
Uhh, Charles?
Mary: “Charles!”
Charles: “I like rocks.”
Tanya shows up for her Graveyard date with him, and Mary invites her in.
“We’re so glad you came by.”
Come, come have a sticky threesome with us.
We need some Extra VIRGIN Olive Oil, you know what I’m sayin?
Mary cuts a rose for Tanya’s hair.
I like how it’s too short to be pretty and too long to actually fit in her hair.
Look at it, it’s sticking right out!
They head to the graveyard to take pictures and have a picnic.
(car transforms) …What?
Why’d that happen.
They start flirting and make a mess.
(picnic basket) Nooooo my tuna on rye!
They start making out, and Charles looks conflicted, saying maybe they shouldn’t go further.
His desire to protect her does NOT last long and he quickly begins to take her life force.
I don’t like this foreplay.
I can’t believe how quickly this guy want from falling in love with her, to ready to
commit murder.
“Why don’t you just think of yourself as lunch!”
Tanya whacks him over the head with her camera.
It does not deter him and he manages to pin Tanya down again, only to get jabbed in the
eye with a corkscrew.
Look at all that chocolate sauce!
Andy recognizes the trans AM and pulls over, intent on finding Charles.
What he finds is a panicked Tanya, who tries to convince them they both have to leave.
But because Andy is a black man in a horror film, he of course, dies.
DON’T LIKE THAT.
Andy is somehow strong enough to fire a shot at Charles but it doesn’t kill him, so Charles
returns the action.
However, Clovis is on the job and he begins to attack!
Cat scratch fever indeed.
Mortally wounded, Charles leaves Tanya at the graveyard and speeds home.
Aw, Poor Clovis.
That is legitimately upsetting.
Mary tries to heal Charles but he’s not looking too good.
And when I say he, I mean that weird as hell torso prosthetic.
Stephen King alert!
In case you didn’t know, King cameos in all of his movies, at least the ones he worked
on.
I like seeing him there, honestly.
He’s not the greatest actor, but he’s so weird that I find his presence enjoyable.
Charles is on the brink of death and Mary is becoming unhinged.
Mary: “My boy is not going to die, NOT EVER.”
I’m starting to get Mommy Dearest vibes from this performance.
Meanwhile, Cats are now swarming their house, ready to pounce.
I mean…
I guess.
They actually look pretty docile.
The cops show up, but Mary manages to dim both herself and Charles and…oh.
Ron Pearlman as Will Ferreal AS Ira Soames.
“Aw shit” Now that’s the talent I’m paying for.
The other cop is keeping watch at Tanya’s house; her mother has so lovingly made a pot
of corn, which is all he seems to be eating.
Mary, in Dim mode, manages to sneak over and past the cops.
Wow you guys really put your head together.
At the door, she offers Tanya’s father some Roses in the way of smacking him in the face
with them.
Uhhh is he just dead?
No, that wouldn’t kill him, right?
I’m confused.
This wouldn’t kill someone, would it?
She shoves mom out the window, while the cop makes some kind of attempt at shooting her.
He misses every time.
Because he is a dope, he leaves the scene to go call 911, but with his back turned,
he gets corned.
Aw shucks.
But seriously, this has got to be one of the best food used as a weapon scenes I’ve ever
seen.
Flawless, no notes.
(Walkie Talkie sound) Calling all cats, calling all cats, we have a situation at the Robertson
house, please make your way there right meow, over.
Unfortunately Pearlman’s role is over abruptly, as Mary decides to bite his finger off, then
twist his arm until his bone snaps.
(shit)
Then things just go completely off the rains.
She takes a few shots, and…
WHY ARE THINGS EXPLODING?
The likelihood of this happening is so, so slim.
She successfully kidnaps Tanya and takes her to see Charles, hoping to save his life.
By this time the place is surrounded by cats and there are a few cat deaths I’m not going
to show because frankly, they bother me.
Tanya: “He’s dead.
Look at him, he’s dead!”
He’s not dead, that's just how he looks!
“You know what I bet he’d love to do?”
I don’t know, Scrabble?
He does look strangely unalive, but Mary manages to put on his favorite record and possess
him to dance, and it’s not clear to me whether he’s revived, or we have a Weekend at Bernies
situation going down.
The dancing seems to heal him, and he morphs into a full Sleepwalker, ready to take her
energy.
Tanya manages to fend him off.
The sheriff, and Clovis and friends begin their assault on Mary.
She also morphs into her true self, though all I can see is the alien from Signs.
These last few moments are absolutely bonkers.
Unfortunately, there can be no survivors in THIS Stephan King story, and the sheriff eats
it.
Tanya tries to start the car and escape, but it seems that her method of smacking the steering
wheel is not working.
(Jab jab) The cats are the ones who ultimately save her, when they bite into Mary she like…bursts
into flames?
I don’t know what causes that, I guess the cat bites.
One minute she’s fine, the next she’s on fire.
Tanya Escapes with Clovis, and that’s it.
That’s the end.
I don’t know if parents are still alive, I don't know where Tanya goes, we just transition
into an Enya song, then the credits.
(The End)
Okay, Final thoughts.
What the hell was that?
What a wild movie, even by Stephen King standards.
Let’s start with the pros: I will admit that the movie does seem to be self aware,
and at times tries to lean into the corny nature of itself.
It seems like it’s trying to be an Evil Dead 2, but even that movie put some thought
into the lore.
The necronomicon has its own history, these guys get nothin.
It does fall in line with other comedy horror films.
The dialogue is overtly hammy and I believe it’s meant to be humorous.
Mary: Vegetables before dessert, that’s the rules.”
But in stark contrast are these very serious scenes; Tanya’s character is clearly traumatized,
and the film does try to portray that in a more significant way, but it’s overshadowed
by things like this.
(String of lines)
The gore is ridiculous, not realistic enough to be frightening, but certainly intense enough
to be upsetting.
The problem isn’t so much the execution or even the acting; in fact I think the actors
are just following the direction they are given, and it’s fun.
The problem is this storyline is AWFUL.
I gave a lot of thought to the lore and mythology of these so-called sleepwalkers; the movie
itself doesn’t give you much to work.
Originally, the film didn’t even include the definition of Sleepwalker, the director
added that and the following visuals in the beginning credits later - can you imagine
going into this without even the bare minimum?
It is not known why cats have the ability to kill these creatures, who are supposedly
also half feline.
Some sources say it’s because they know they aren’t real cats and see them as monsters,
but I still don’t really understand the motive or relationship between them.
Maybe the cats think that vampire werecat hybrids are an abomination and that’s why
they attack.
I also don’t understand why Mary and Charles don’t kill more cats because it’s clear
they can.
It seems like sometimes they have the strength to do it, and sometimes they don’t.
At the beginning of the movie there was a cat massacre, so you assume they can do it,
but at times they are just weak and vulnerable.
Their powers are also confusing - I can maybe believe the idea of dimming.
Creatures in literature often have multiple powers, especially vampires, so if Sleepwalkers
are part vampire… sure.
I buy it.
But let’s take another look at the weekend at Bernie’s scene.
Charles is dead.
Tanya: “He’s dead, look at him he’s dead!”
But somehow, Mary is able to think real hard and use his body for dancing purposes.
Once he starts dancing, he seemingly comes back to life to drain Tanya.
So if the power of dance heals why didn’t you do it earlier?
What is this, why was Mary able to do this?
Another thing that was added alongside the very vague lore was the sex scene.
(noise) Thank god, how could I understand these characters motivations without this
sticky love makin’ scene?
The end is the most baffling, with Mary spontaneously bursting into flame, seemingly caused by the
cat attack.
I could not find a good reason for this happening - as the cats claw at Mary, it looks like
she’s sparking electricity, and then bam.
She is on fire.
The theatrical poster makes it seem like the cats are the villains, and the tagline makes
it seem like these creatures feed on your fear, which is…vague.
This tagline makes me think more about Stephen King’s It, where fear actually does play
a significant role in the story, but these creatures do not require the victim to be
afraid in order for them to take their energy, they just need to hold them down and take
it by force.
I think this is a very confusing poster and doesn’t portray anything about the movie,
and as I thought about it, I don’t know why they are called Sleepwalkers.
They aren’t nocturnal, they are hardly vampiric.
It’s all so baffling, it’s like a horror movie cocktail with random tropes thrown into
it and pureed.
I know I am over analyzing, but the reason I am is because when you present me a story
with mythology and ancient creatures with a rich history, I expect some background!
But… eh, who cares.
You should watch it anyway because it’s entertaining in the bad way in the good way,
you know what I mean?
The best I can say is that you will not be bored, and what more can you ask for?
Except for exposition and a backstory.
I love movies like this and I love Stephen King, so if you have any suggestions for things
you’d like to see me cover, leave a comment.
And until next time…
(I LIKE ROCKS.)
Hey everyone, thanks again for watching my video on Sleepwalkers, I hope you enjoyed
it and are looking forward to more Stephen King videos.
I want to give a thank you to my patrons, I’ve been having a rough few months and
they’ve been there to support my show and make it possible for me to keep the channel
running.
You guys rock.
If you want to help, consider donating just a few bucks, and if not, likes and shares
really churn my butter.
If you want to see more from me, here are a few suggestions.
On the right I have a video on a cult classic children’s series named Round the Twist,
and on the left I have a game review on the lovely Return to Monkey Island, always a fun
time.
Thanks again and as always, I will see you in the next one.