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The Sleeper (2012) - Bluray

5 beers

Time to sleep!

Making its blu-ray debut is a retrograde schlock fest, The Sleeper, that gets quite a number of horror elements right in its 90-minutes. It is a film that embraces the ABSOLUTE Disturbing as one man, with milky-blue eyes and one hell of sick whisper, stalks the halls and bedrooms of Alpha Gamma Theta in search of just the right kill. And it could be any girl there; especially from among the new pledges. After all, he already has their photographs and, yes, he loves to mark them up with large red letters: ZZZZ.

The Sleeper has arrived. Produced and distributed by Gamma Knife Films, this slasher is full of solid POV shots from the killer himself, a retro-minded synth soundtrack (thanks to Gremlin), and plenty of gore; it’s perfect for Gore-Gore Girls and Boils. It even has a confident slasher swagger as stars Brittany Belland, Ray Goodwin, Truth or Dare’s Jessica Cameron, and Jason Jay Crabtree bring us into the sorority house that is unable to shake a killer from doing what he does best with his BANG! BANG! silver hammer. Theta Forever!

"retrograde horror made with a love for the genre and the era."


As necks are slashed and faces ripped off, the gore in this one is effective and pretty damn gnarly. And so, too, is the confident aesthetic. If you are fan of slashers, this is a real find. Shot to look like it is straight out of 1981, The Sleeper is a nasty slice of horror that doesn’t shy away from nudity and its righteous handling of its many, many kills. We are talking hammer to the face. The Sleeper is for the sick and twisted.

Smartly written and directed by Justin Russell, everything comes together and fits the overall aesthetic in a very unique way. Everything works here to create a modern-day cult classic. The heavy grain, the lighting, the fashion, even the pace of the film AND THE EDITS bring together something incredibly awesome.

And then there’s the cast. What a killer (pun intended) group of actors. Ohio must be swarming with untapped talent because even the background actors bring their A-game. Bellan as Amy, the innocent newbie to the ways of the sorority, is perfectly cast and utilized. She’s wide-eyed, the best on the dance floor (because we even get one of those great dance sequences), and friendly and, when things start to go haywire, brings all the right stuff to be the Final Girl.The Sleeper (2012) - Bluray

Even Bobby (Paul Moon), who gets blamed for everything in this flick, works as a character. He is dopey, sure, but he gets laid, blamed and then stewed. He’s the first to seek help from the police and yet everyone, including the girls’ house mother, blames him for the missing girls. It works. It’s fun. And, oh yeah, poor Bobby!

Here’s the main thing you need to understand about this film. While operating as an homage, it is deadly serious about its purpose. This is not a comedy. This is not a goofy film at all. It’s designed to fit in and plays things straight and, even when some characters don’t work (namely E. Ray Goodwin as the detective assigned to the case of the missing girls), the film still makes a solid landing with its thrills and chills.

The Sleeper is retrograde horror made with a love for the genre and the era. Ti West would be proud of these filmmakers. Don’t “go to sllllleeeeeeeeepppppppp” on owning this one.

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The Sleeper (2012) - Bluray

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime:
90 mins
Director
: Justin Russell
Writer: 
Justin Russell
Cast:
Brittany Belland, Ray Goodwin, Jason Jay Crabtree
Genre
: Horror | Thriller
Tagline:
If I die before I wake.
Theatrical Distributor:
Official Site:
Release Date:

DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
June 12, 2018
Synopsis: It's 1981 and the girls of Alpha Gamma Theta sorority are having a party. As the new pledges arrive, so does an uninvited guest. Little do the sisters know someone is watching them in the shadows. As the girls shower, study, eat and sleep the stalker studies the girls. One by one he finds the girls at their most vulnerable and murders them. The police hunt for the missing girls and their killer, but will they find them in time? Or will the girls be forced to fight for their lives...

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

The Sleeper (2012) - Bluray

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: Gama Knife Films
Available on Blu-ray
- June 12, 2018
Screen Formats: 1.78:1
Subtitles
: None
Audio:
English: LPCM 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set; DVD copy
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Offered by Scream Team Releasing and Gamma Knife Films, The Sleeper’s blu-ray release, with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1, is a thing of beauty.   Colors are saturated to fit the films shot in the era and the black levels are full of depth. The film is expertly shot and the color saturation provides minute detail puncturing, replicated here in great moments of detail, textures in the environment, and atmospheres on the surface. The mood is sharpened throughout the feature by the solid black levels. Fortunately, even costume threads are visible in this fine presentation. The transfer handles all the happenings expertly. Blacks are deep and colors, as mentioned early, are varied and supple. The MA-Stereo track for this release is adequate and supplies some quality atmosphere effects throughout.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • Want to learn about filmmaking? Listen to this commentary from writer/director Justin Russell as he discusses the making of the movie.

Special Features:

DISC 1 (Blu-ray):

  • Feature Film
  • Commentary
  • Shooting A Nightmare In 13 Days (Hour Long Featurette)
  • Joe Bob Briggs' Drive-In Total
  • Theatrical Trailers
  • Lost Trailer Series: Don't Go In The Attic
  • Motion Menus

 

DISC 2 (DVD):

  • The Lost VHS Transfer

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The Sleeper (2012) - Bluray

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