Doctor Sleep (2002)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Nick Willing

Writers:

Madison Smartt Bell (novel)
Nick Willing (written by) ...

Release Date:

16 August 2002 (Israel)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The deeper the sleep. The darker the fear.

Plot:

A hypnotherapist is caught up in the pursuit of a serial killer.

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Vision | Policewoman | Scotland Yard | Female Cop

Awards:

5 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Shirley Henderson	...	Janet Losey
Goran Visnjic	...	Michael Strother
Miranda Otto	...	Clara Strother
Sophie Stuckey	...	Heather
Josh Richards	...	Keith
John Rogan	...	Francis Paladine
Claire Rushbrook	...	Grace
Lauren Gabrielle Volpert	...	Martha Strother
Sarah Woodward	...	Police Inspector Hilary Ash
Corin Redgrave	...	Chief Inspector Clements
Paddy Considine	...	Elliot Spruggs
Madison Smartt Bell	...	Hypnosis Patient
Stevie Nye	...	Young Boy 1
Joshua McGowan	...	Young Boy 2
Andrew French	...	Police Detective

Also Known As:

Close Your Eyes (USA)
Hypnotic (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

USA:108 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:MA | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | USA:R | Italy:T

Filming Locations:

East Finchley Underground Station, East Finchley, London, England, UK

Company:

BBC Films

Trivia:

Goran Visnjic lived in a rented flat above a pub off Trafalgar Square for three months while filming this movie.

Quotes:

Janet Losey: If you help me, I'll pay you 500 pounds.

Soundtrack:

Imagination

Intriguing horror-thriller with creepy moments amidst the silliness.

A fairly intriguing horror-thriller which plays like a hybrid of Jonathan Demme's The Silence Of The Lambs and Gregory's Hoblit's Fallen, Doctor Sleep (aka "Close Your Eyes") has a fair few effective moments. Some reviewers here on the IMDb have complained that the film is poorly directed, but I don't see where they're coming from. The film is unfussily directed, but to use the word "poor" is somewhat harsh. The plot - while fundamentally rather silly and hard-to-swallow - is at least quite unusual, and helps the film to come across as a reasonably original and unpredictable piece of hokum.

A psychiatrist with unusual telepathic powers, Dr Michael Strother (Goran Visnjic), moves from Seattle to London after his treatment results in the death of a patient and a subsequent witch-hunt by the American media. Once in London, he inadvertently gets drawn into the plight of a young girl, Heather (Sophie Stuckey - an excellent child actress), who recently escaped from the clutches of a wanted serial killer known to police as the Tattoo Murderer. Since her ordeal, Heather hasn't spoken a word, but ambitious policewoman Janet Losey (Shirley Henderson) hopes that Michael can find a way to get her to open up.... and maybe reveal a clue as to the killer's whereabouts. An internet geek with interests in occult history, Elliot Spruggs (Paddy Considine), is called upon to help and he gradually figures out that the killer seems to be following the methods of a 500 year old cult, the fundamental belief of which is that life can be prolonged and transferred from body to body, via a gruesome ritual involving blood transfusions (it is for these transfusions that the children have been taken by the Tattoo Murderer).

Doctor Sleep has some very creepy moments in spite of its unlikely premise. Visnjic plays the doctor quite well (he has a great, soothing voice which makes his psychiatric scenes particularly believable), though Shirley Henderson as the police lady doesn't register too strongly. The shocks are simple but effective, and the film generates an eerie atmosphere without resorting to full-on gore, nor falling back on the slasher movie mentality that seems to permeate too many recent horror flicks. There is a very chilling twist ending (which has been called confusing in several reviews and message board postings on this site - though in actual fact it is rather clever, not to mention disturbing, if you've paid close attention during the film). On the whole, Doctor Sleep is a solid, workmanlike chiller which achieves its modest aims with a degree of success.