6/30/2023 0 Comments Dont sleep castThe homeostatic sleep drive affects how deeply we sleep, too. The longer we’re awake, the more our bodies crave sleep - and the longer we’re asleep, the more the body wants to wake up. First, there’s the sleep-wake homeostatic drive. Concluding, near-irredeemably awful.Two internal systems control when we sleep and when we’re awake. The direction is leaden, got the sense their heart was not in it, and the music doesn't really fit. There is not enough threat here and what there is of it tends to be used poorly, while the psychological elements are unimaginative and are more odd than scary, completely failing to show any sense of horror. The ending makes the film finish on an incomplete and confused whimper, in fact it is not really an ending at all. A lot of 'Don't Sleep' has underdeveloped plot elements and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations, while too many of the things to make you jump or shocked are far from creative or scary and are pretty tame. Would not have minded the lack of originality (the film is extremely derivative and in a dumbed and watered down way) if the story and atmosphere were at least alright in execution, in reality they were both dreadfully done. Found too many the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness, a lot of dumb and vague moments and explanations and the lack of tension and suspense. Dialogue can be stilted and rambling, with lots of clichés and no depth whatsoever, while the pace goes to a standstill very quickly and drags on forever with very little going on worth caring about, never recovering. It even gets the worst out of Cary Elwes, an actor who to me is generally watchable. The effects are ropy at best, the sound quality is obvious and utilised cheaply (being too loud in the build ups and people's reactions) and it's best not mentioning the uniformly lumbering and histrionic acting. Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into it. Especially the best friend who is just as annoying as that squeaking door mentioned previously. Their annoying and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrates. Too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Going on further to the negatives, the story does feel paper thin, disjointed and over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary. Unfortunately, it is not done justice by the rather direct to video schlocky way it's shot and edited, it was very clear that the film was made in a rush with no care or enthusiasm. There is next to nothing to recommend and it is a sleeper. 'Don't Sleep' is terrible, with a plethora of problems (huge ones too) and doesn't do enough with its potential, which was hardly small. It is sadly however yet another film seen recently, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws are here present in those films, that to me was incredibly disappointing considering its potential which it doesn't do anywhere near enough with. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive. 'Don't Sleep' drew me into seeing it, with a cool poster/cover, an slightly intriguing but very derivative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for horror.
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