Sleepless, or to give the film its original Italian title, Non ho sonno, was a commercial success in its native country and marked the return of legendary director Dario Argento to the giallo sub-genre after a long hiatus. Essentially a slasher at heart, Sleepless does see the return of the director's popular trademarks, making this a formulaic and unsurprising serial killer movie elevated by some stylish camera-work and a thumping, energetic score. Taking place decades after Turin was left shaking following a series of killings known as 'The Dwarf Murders', it was assumed that the killer was dead after its main suspect disappeared and the crimes came to an abrupt halt. Yet when people (women) start to turn up dead in the same style as those committed back in 1983, it would seem that the one responsible is back and thirsty for more bloodshed.A young boy, Giacomo (Stefano Dionisi), witnesses the horrific murder of his mother. The lead investigator, Moretti (Max von Sydow), promises the shell-shocked youth that he will catch the killer if it takes him the rest of his life. Fast-forward seventeen years later, and the case of The Dwarf Murders remains officially unsolved. Paying the bills by working as a waiter in restaurant, Giacomo, now living in Rome, is pulled back to Turin when his friend offers him a place to stay as the murders start to pile up. With the police clueless and familiar with the notorious murders years before, they turn to the now-retired Moretti for assistance, but his memory has deteriorated so much that he remembers little about the case. Reminded of his promise, Moretti hooks up with Giacomo in an attempt to solve the murders themselves. Is giallo novelist Vincenzo de Fabritiis, the dwarf who emerged as the prime suspect before seemingly passing away, actually alive and eager to finish the job?With sightings of a little person made at almost every murder scene, it appears that the answer is yes. But like most of the greatest gialli, Argento's script (co-written by Franco Ferrini and Carlo Lucarelli) throws in more red-herrings than you can count and will leave you guessing until the very end. With a running time of just shy of 2 hours, Sleepless is overlong, and doesn't offer enough in the way of originality to justify the slog. It may just catch you off guard though, as Argento throws in a set-piece on an empty train with only a potential victim, a conductor and the unseen killer on board, which ranks as some of the greatest work he's ever done. With the return of Goblin on the soundtrack, the movie often feels like a return to form for the Italian filmmaker, but slasher tropes dominate while the giallo nods often feel like a side-note. This means that there is perhaps more than just a hint of misogyny, and the narrative is repetitive in nature. Still, it was the best work he had done since 1987's Opera, until he regressed again into a series of movies that varied between the mediocre to the downright terrible.

Listening to music from co-writer/(along with Franco Ferrini & Carlo Lucarelli) director Dario Argento's movies,I stumbled across an excellent Rock track,which I was surprised to discover was from one of his more recent films.After having seen all of his other feature films, (with the exception of Argento's "live opera" Macbeth)I decided that for my 29th birthday that I would go to sleep.The plot:Leaving a clients place,a prostitute trips over a folder that the client has left out, (woops!)which contains clippings on a serial killers reign 17 years ago.Grabbing the folder,the prostitute rushes out with the folder and jumps on a train.Sitting on the train,the prostitute gets a call from the client,who tells her that he is going to track her down.Finding herself on her own,the prostitute is suddenly gripped by a strangers hands,who kills her.Making sure that there is no chance of getting identified,the murderer kills the prostitute's friend and takes the folder back into safe hiding.Learning about the killings,retired detective Ulisse Moretti notices that the killings look eerily similar to a "nursery rhyme/Dwarf Killer" serial killer (who was found dead via "suicide" bullet in the head) case that he solved 20 years ago.As the bodies start to pile up and the nursery rhyme lyrics return, Giacomo Gallo (whose mum was one of the original victims) reminds Morettthat that he promised him that he would get his mothers killer,as Moretti begins to fear that he read the wrong rhyme 20 years ago.View on the film:Backed by a thunderous score from Goblin, (who joined after original composer Goran Bregovich asked for more cash!)Dario Argento builds an excellent halfway house,with references to his past work being spread across a tense millennial Giallo chiller.From the blood- splatted opening Argento reveals a rejuvenated energy, as dazzlingly stylised whip pans and jagged tracking shots give each of the murder set pieces a blazing atmosphere. Reuniting with cinematographer Ronnie Taylor,Argento & Taylor smoke the Giallo in Film Noir red,by scattering needles of rain and bursts of smoke in decaying buildings,which creates an excellent bleak canvas for the reign of terror.Whilst the final twist does take the title into a deranged comedic direction,Argento & Franco Ferrini collaboration with novelist Carlo Lucarelli makes the change one that is easy to forgive.For the opening 30 minutes,the writers hit a perfect note of keeping the murders moving at a lightning speed,whilst making sure to drop clues to future revelations.Sinking into the Film Noir side of the Giallo,the writers smartly give Moretti & Giacomo partnership space to breath,which gives the uncovering of the truth a tense mood,and also leads to a fantastic twist in the last 30 minutes hitting an unexpectedly tragic note.Looking rather fetching in bra & panties,the very pretty Chiara Caselli gives a terrific performance as Giacomo's girlfriend Gloria,whose uncompromising,determined attitude tightens Moretti and Giacomo's desire to solve the case.Giving the title a warm sense of gravitas, Max von Sydow pulls up the Film Noir roots of the Giallo in his superb performance as Moretti.Looking worn down to the bone, Sydow paints Moretti as a Film Noir loner whose fading memory is unable to block Moretti's doubt over solving the case decades ago,as Argento's Giallo gloves start to make Moretti sleepless.

I saw 'Non Ho Sonno' just once before, and I was probably a little inebriated, but the gore, a nursery rhyme and Max Von Sydow I did remember. Since then, I have become a bit of a fan of the giallo genre, though there are still plenty I need to see. Since I have been newly watching a lot of titles, this one came up as one truly due for another try.As is common with Dario Argento films, the plot is pretty far fetched and at times logics are shaky, but it does have its charms, such as nursery rhymes, a complicated (childhood / family) history, some pretty dames, a sympathetic investigator (for which Max Von Sydow is mostly responsible), the animal (farm) motif; all of them embedding some pretty brutal, original and graphic murders which usually have long and visually beautiful intro's leading up to them. Not as great as much of his (Argento's) earliest / earlier work, but still one that stands very much out in much of the usual, standard (mostly American) horror pulp that is out there. Beyond Max Von Sydow, the acting is not great, but certainly doable, and Roberto Zibetto's finale both surprised and impressed me.Yes, you have got to love the giallo, and thus Dario Argento. A big 7 out of 10.P.s.: about the gay-motif, on which there is a thread here on IMDb; I hadn't noticed it, and, in retrospect, it doesn't ring a bell at all.

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.