Dario Argento finally returns to his giallo roots, after years in the wilderness spent making films in America, his unorthodox version of Phantom of the Opera and an obsession with casting his daughter, Asia, in all of his movies. SLEEPLESS is a breath of fresh air and a more than watchable movie, although not without its fair share of flaws and niggles. Compared to his old classics of the '70s, SLEEPLESS is pretty poor in many respects. A lot of the cast are of the young, fresh-faced and utterly banal Italian actors who seemingly fill Italian cinema these days. The old days are long gone and we have no Neros, Hemmings, or even Steffens or Hiltons to lead us through the films anymore. Max von Sydow is a welcome presence as the retired detective and puts in an excellent performance but he does feel a little out of place in an Argento film, perhaps because he is just too famous. There's another flaw in regards to von Sydow, which includes major spoilers for obvious reasons so stop reading now if you must.The plot is fairly predictable and throws in the usual bunch of bizarre, unwieldy ingredients including poetry-spouting dwarfs, killer instruments (an English horn!), homicidal puppets, animals, and lots of gruesome murders. In many ways Argento goes back to his first films and rehashes a lot of the plot elements, lacking originality and focus at key points. The murders are even more vicious than before and for the first time Argento borders on cold misogyny. The opening sequence involves a naked prostitute being gorily hacked to pieces on a train (the most frightening scene in the film) and the rest of the murders focus on attractive women losing their lives in fantastically gruesome ways (the nastiest being a face-bashing that goes on for an age and includes flying teeth). The finale is appropriately bloody but feels a little contrived, like cod Shakespeare, and leaves the film on an unsatisfying note.Stylists will be pleased that Argento is full of his usual tracking shots, sweeps and even Goblin have returned to supply a quality soundtrack just like in the old days. But something is missing in the heart of this film. What's the point of a two minute long tracking shot of a stretch of carpet other than to show off his new digital effects and the like? Sure, it's watchable enough and even recalls the old days at times, but the film has no soul. It never really grips you and the deaths seem predictable and, dare I say it, clichéd, like Sergio Stivaletti is desperate to try out his newest and most realistic effects yet. This is why no two deaths are ever the same. The fact that von Sydow's leading character gets killed off twenty minutes before the end of the film is a mortal sin, leaving us to follow some faceless and boring young heroes for the supposedly exciting finale. Still, the film could be worse, and it's stylish enough to surpass the most brain dead of modern US slashers. It's also better than his last film, but at the end of the day I think I prefer THE STENDHAL SYNDROME.

In 1983 a serial killer nicknamed the Dwarf embarks of a murderous spree. The detective in charge Moretti (played by legendary Max von Sydow) manages to connects the dots to a mystery novelist Vincenzo de Fabritiis, only for the suspect to die before capture. Almost twenty years later a prostitute by freak accident stumbles upon memorabilia of past murders, whilst leaving a clients house. Before she can pass on the mementos to anyone else she is brutally murdered. Soon after murders surprisingly similar to the 1983 case occur and detective Moretti is called back in to assist...After over a decade of lingering in the disembowelled remains of his legend Dario Argento returns by resurrecting his giallo cookbook. And make no mistake - Argento does not attempt in the slightest to modernise the genre, instead he follows his own former path of glory making sure the recipe is repeated. This also signals a welcome return of The Goblins and their always hauntingly suitable score. The requisite ingredient of long marauding shots, which follow the blood, murder and atmosphere, is obviously also present. One especially well-done fist-clenching sequence has the camera follow a red (what? you expected any other colour from Dario?) carpet with the unmistakable relentless accompaniment of The Goblins straight to a morbid beheading.That said Argento seems to have dropped his obsession with coloured lenses and does not seem to attach the same fervorous attention to set-pieces. Unfortunately this does seem to take away some of the Argento magic and can not help but feel the superiority of the 70s giallo. Even more so, that the formulaic repetitiveness of Argento causes "Sleepless" to become all to similar to what the master has already offered us in the past. The script has the feel of being a collage of several other Argento giallo flicks. Nonetheless the movie features surprisingly crisp acting for an Argento movie, even though some of the characters seem unnecessarily overcooked.There are several other smaller flaws to "Sleepless", as the movie drags on even more than we are used to from the Italian, the dialogue can be ridiculous at times (Moretti dumbfoundedly asks "Who is that? Is this a joke?" after hearing someone break his window), whilst some of the plotting is absurdly unlikely to say the least (i.e. a witness decides to return a gold pen to the serial killer in exchange for money, instead of handing in the evidence to the police).This movie also has a touch of Argento's self-commentary to it in the shape of Moretti, a detective used to the old ways of solving crime. Now the methods have changed, but Moretti has struggled to adapt, still preferring the traditional art of deduction. One can't help but feel that this is Argento's personal explanation as to his persistent drop in status during the 90s.Nonetheless a nice movie that shows that Dario Argento still has some spark left in him. Whether or not he will be able to tap into this source to make a spectacular comeback to the limelight remains however to be seen.

Not exactly a return to form for Argento, bur certainly a step in the right direction (after several less-than stellar efforts), Sleepless sees the director plundering his 70s and 80s back catalogue to put together what is probably his most satisfying movie since Opera (1987).Max von Sydow plays Moretti, an ex-detective called out of retirement to help assist in a murder case which is somehow connected to a series of vicious killings that took place seventeen years earlier. Has the ghost of Vincenzo, the thriller writing dwarf who was accused of the original murders, returned from the grave to kill again, or is someone else responsible for the grisly deaths?A complicated, and often nonsensical story (just how us giallo fans like 'em) twists and turns like one of Argento's Louma Crane-mounted cameras, delivering many elements that will be very familiar to avid fans of giallo cinema: a black-leather-glove wearing killer; a dwarf; creepy nursery rhymes; prowling camera-work; a Goblin synth/rock score; a spooky mannequin; passages read aloud from books; visual and aural clues; and spectacularly bloody death scenes (courtesy of Sergio Stivaletti).Of course, this is familiar territory for the director, and the man known as 'the Italian Hitchcock' delights in showing his audience that he still has what it takes to dazzle with his visuals, scare with carefully crafted scenes of terror, and repulse with incredibly visceral special effects (multiple stabbings, finger removal, a touch of face-smashing resulting in broken teeth, a severed head, death via musical instrument, and a marvellous bullet through the head). He also throws in some welcome nudity, and even manages to get his daughter yet another movie credit by using some of her 'poetry' in the film (she is responsible for the dreadful children's rhyme The Death Farm).Sleepless isn't unmissable Argento—but it is well worth a look if you get the chance.7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

As a child, a young boy named Giacomo witnesses his mother's murder, but cannot see the killer's face. After the killer is presumed dead, he goes on with his life. But years later the killer returns and Giacomo is back in the thick of things: he teams up with a retired detective he met as a boy (played by Max von Sydow) and they track the clues around Turin.Dario Argento consistently delivers films that I consider top-notch. If you look at a list of my reviewed films from highest to lowest ranked, you'll see a cluster of his work right up in the top ten or twenty (which is pretty high considering how many reviews I've done). This is the lowest I've ranked his work yet, and let me be clear about my reasoning: this is not a bad film. On the contrary, it is a very good film (some say the best since "Suspiria", although I would disagree).The primary reason this is ranked lower is because it's largely recycled from Argento's earlier giallo films. Particularly, this film has strong connections to "Bird With the Crystal Plumage" and "Deep Red". You have a protagonist who is connected to a murder and is investigating it, though not actually part of the police. This protagonist gets a strong clue about the killer, but is not able to make out what it is until after examining his memory five or six times (in this case it's a noise he hears the killer make). And, there's at least one red herring: as soon as the killer is caught, it may not be the real killer (again, this one has strong "Plumage" connections).My other problem, and it's relatively minor, is that one of the main characters has the most obnoxious voice. It's a lispy, wheezing, Asian-sounding, high-pitched Michael Jackson voice. I had a hard time believing that anyone really talks like that. But, apart from the voice, the acting and everything else was fine.The three really great things that stand out about this film, other than the usual Argento traits (the great music and scenery, for example) are the use of space, increased violence and the switch-up of main characters. The space issue is best shown early on in a scene on a train, which I think is what this film is most known for now (with good reason). A young woman must hide from a killer on a moving train -- putting her and the camera in a confined space. This really accelerates the terror, as we feel with her that there's literally no where to run.The increased gore and violence is noticeably. In newer films (such as "Pelts" and "Jenifer") Argento really lets the gore out, but in earlier works it is more mellow and implied. Even in the really violent scenes from the 1970s, it's quick and not very disturbing. This film, with its finger-hacking and English horn choking, really creates the bridge between the 1970s Argento and the 2000s Argento.Lastly, the characters switching is a nice touch. We don't establish who the main character is until maybe twenty minutes or more into the film. Following the path of the killer's notebook, we see who finds it and how it gets from point A to point B. But the notebook is not a main focus of the film, nor are the people who carry it. Like the red carpet later on, it just serves as a guide for the camera. (There is some question of how the killer is able to move around on the train and elsewhere so quickly, but we won't worry about that here.) As with all other Argento, I bring this one to you with the highest recommendation. Great plot (actually better than much of his work), great gore, great characters and great music. His best camera work in a long time, and a higher quality filming process (Italy is usually years behind America in film quality -- this is an exception). On your next sleepless night, pick up "Sleepless". It's a winner.