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Released by: BFI
Released on: September 23, 2013.
Director: Saxon Logan
Cast: Bill Douglas, Joanna David, Heather Page, Nickolas Grace,
Year: 1984
The Movie:
In their (thankfully) ongoing quest to breathe new life into some of the most obscure British cult films ever made, the BFI's Flipside label unearths this fifty-five minute oddity from director Saxon Logan (and before anyone dismisses this release based on the short running time, be sure to read up on the extras which more than make up for that).
The story is simple enough - when it begins, wealthy Richard Paradise (Nickolas Grace) and his wife Angela (Joanna David) are driving through the rainy countryside to visit their friends Alex Britain (Bill Douglas) and his sister Marion (Heather Page), who are hosting them for dinner in their massive home, an estate named Albion. It doesn't take long upon their arrival for Richard's attitude to start causing trouble. It's made obvious early on through conversations that he's a snob and that Angela can't quite muster up whatever it is she needs to stand up to him and put a stop to his arrogant behavior.
All is not well with Alex and Marion either. She's been plagued by horrible nightmares and if the fact that their aging home was starting to show signs of disrepair wasn't bad enough, on the one night they have company the nasty storm outside blows a tree branch through the window, ruining dinner. And so the four head out to a restaurant where leftist Alex and right wing Richard's dislike for one another becomes painfully obvious when they argue over politics. When the four head back to the house to spend the night, the booze flows, and things start to get progressively more unusual and surprisingly gory!
This one starts off with a great opening scene that sets the stage for what's to come but definitely (and intentionally) slows down a lot in the middle stretch. It's here, in the lengthy conversations that occur between the four characters, that Logan is able to work in some interesting satire and social commentary in regards to the have's versus the have not's and the class warfare that can and does sometimes exist between them. It's no accident that we get a character with the surname of Britain arguing with an elitist fat cat type, nor is it a coincidence that 'Albion' is falling apart. It's not hard to read between the lines here, particularly when you consider the rise of Margaret Thatcher's politics during the ear in which this film was made. The dialogue here is simply vitriolic and while it more than likely alienated anyone looking for a traditional horror film when it first debuted, it's worth listening to as it's actually quite clever and funny. Grace and Douglas make for interesting sparring partners while their dutiful wives deliver more subtle, restrained performances.
Of course, all of this leads up to a rather insane finale which we won't spoil here, but let it suffice to say that the film takes an interesting and drastic turn from social commentary to straight horror very quickly. On top of that we see the obvious influence of Argento's Suspiria, what with all the primary colored lighting set against the stormy backdrop to the sounds of a surprisingly heavy electronic score.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Sleepwalker debuts on Blu-ray in AVC encoded 1.85.1 widescreen in 1080p high definition sourced from Logan's own print, the only elements for the film known to exists. It's grainy to be sure but there's only minimal print damage and the colors are nicely reproduced here. Detail isn't half bad at all, and while it won't compete with a pristine big budget feature, for a grubby little low budget oddity such as this, overall it looks quite good.
Audio chores are handled by an English language PCM Mono track, no alternate language options or subtitles are provided but English closed captioning can be turned on or off through the menu or your remote. The mono track isn't fancy but it gets the job done. Dialogue is crisp, clean and clear if occasionally just a tiny bit flat (no doubt stemming back to the original source).
The extras include two extra short films, the first of which is the forty-five minute The Insomniac directed by Rodney Giesler in 1971. In the picture a man (Morris Perry) fights insomnia as his dreams blend with his reality as his sexual fantasies collide with his nightmares. It's a strange and fairly artsy work that does a nice job of mixing up some interesting horror movie imagery with some surprising and sexualized themes that actually work quite well together. It complements the feature attraction nice, as does the inclusion of Logan's eleven minute short from 1977, Stepping Out. Here a couple wake up in the morning and go about their routine in some rather unorthodox ways. The BFI note that this short originally played in UK theaters in front of Polanski's The Tenant, which is interesting given how it plays out.
We also get a sixteen minute piece called Working Surface: A Short Study (with Actors) In 'The Ways' Of A Bourgeois Writer once again directed by Logan, this time in 1979. Bill Douglas stars as a writer working on a script about two women he knows (played by his Sleepwalker co-stars Joanna David and Heather Page) where he finds himself almost turning into one of the characters. It's an odd little short but worth checking out as once again Douglas is very good in front of a camera. The last of the core extras is O Lucky Man: Saxon Logan In Conversation, a new feature-length interview with the director that runs seventy-two minutes and lets him explain in quite a bit of detail about his career, his collaborations with Lindsay Anderson and the movies that he made which are contained on this disc. It's the best extra in the set as it provides all the background information you could want on the odd production and allows Logan in his own words to explain what he was up to here. He's a very good story teller and makes for a fascinating interviewee. He's also got a very sharp memory and isn't afraid to talk about the stranger side of his work and his thoughts on what it was like to work with the cast and crew which he assembled for these productions.
Also included with the release is an illustrated booklet containing essays on the films by Julian Grainger, Vic Pratt, Alex Davidson and Sam Dunn as well as complete credits for each picture.
The Final Word:
Sleepwalker is an odd one, but it's quite well made, very clever, and towards the finale actually a bit eerie. Definitely a genuine cult oddity worth tracking down, and the fact that the BFI have jammed this disc with extras that complement and document the feature itself is the icing on the cake. The movie looks and sounds as good as it probably can and the insert booklet itself is a wealth of information. A strong release overall, one that's easy to recommend.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
