Too much of everything

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

And go back, way back, into the 1980s. If you can do that, you will watch a movie that is kind of a throwback into the time where there were no cell phones and bad acting was acceptable. Although I reckon it still is to a degree at any time. But take this, which very obviously has taken notes from Slasher movies from the past and runs with them.You can quote Black Christmas, Halloween and others (yes I know they originated in the 70s) and make a similar movie. This is the result, with some neat effects, all reminiscent of the practical effects you may love from the movies back then. The editing feels like it's from back then and there is even a scene of nudity. A lot of blood and a lot of nonsense ... sounds intriguing?

Amateur movies aren't always bad, but mostly they are. 'The sleeper' does have its upsides, but director Justin Russell has a lot to learn. There are plenty of older slasher movies that could be named as an inspiration for this ('Black Christmas', 'Friday the 13th' - the originals, of course), but the retro horror movie 'The house of the devil', by Ti West, may have inspired Russell very much as well. The walking around on campus, the stretching of the suspense, the somewhat off-handed disco dancing scene and the basketball scene, the in your face (pun intended) gore, it's all there. But where Ti West succeeded in telling a story, building up to a climax and capturing the right atmosphere, and energy, ánd gore (here it is only incidentally pretty good), Russell fails mostly.The cast does not help much here, either. The killer has potential, but ultimately is not nearly iconic. The girls, the cop(s), the housemother, none of them are truly convincing, except when for instance Riana Ballo as Stacy gets into a swimsuit (big continuity error there, when she leaves her top with her lover boy and minutes later walks around with the top on)... some tasty nudity always works, but there is not much of that here. Maybe Brittany Belland had the right looks, but she was still unconvincing.Still, Russell does achieve some atmosphere at times, with a lot of nice camera angles and a decent soundtrack, but that is not nearly enough for a good movie.A very small 4 out of 10.

The Sleeper is one of the WORST movies I've ever seen! Everything about is horrible ...... lame acting, bad script, non-existent explanations. It's almost as if some child wrote the script and directed the movie! Even if it was a low budget movie, it's no excuse for it to be so awful. A lot of girls and boys die, but no one in the community even discovers any of the bodies even if some of them are in public places. There's not even a single bit of info on the killer's past or why he kills. There is no redeeming feature in the movie at all. If you watch it till the end, you might even feel like throwing rotten tomatoes or rotten eggs at the screen! Giving even 1/10 is an act of mercy.

Look, I appreciate anyone who puts themselves out there to make something, but this was just terrible.We all know that 80's slasher movies are notoriously absurd...the only way you can successfully "pay homage" to them is as a parody, which this is not. This attempts to be a serious horror/slasher flick but it just doesn't add up.Okay, so in 1979, a random girl is killed at the same sorority house where the present-day (1981) action takes place. No mention of that murder is ever mentioned and actually adds nothing to the plot line.Then a random girl just gets invited to a sorority party for pledges...as a sophomore. I may be wrong about this but don't most sororities only look for freshmen girls as pledges? And where were the other pledges at the party? That was some party though, haha...all 8 of them! I get it, extras are hard to come by, but if this was shot on or near a college campus, it couldn't have been that hard to get "free" labor out of college kids who would get a kick out of being in a movie. Anyway, the main girl and her roommate (apparently a goth girl in 1981...) go and like the place.Meanwhile, "The Sleeper" sneaks in through an unlocked door and waits until everyone leaves or goes to sleep and then kills one of the girls who had recently had sex with her boyfriend. Though when the hammer hits her in the head, her had had magically transformed into an obvious rubber mask...Oh yeah, and he called the house before, crying and saying she would be first.Over the period of the film, the sorority girls are killed in various ways, but its never a surprise. You follow one girl who goes off on her own and we know she is going to get killed. A few other people get killed as well.The ending is just dumb:If you are "securing" a house, wouldn't you lock the doors as your first order of business?And are there really only 4 cops for this town/college? There was no suspense in this film. The part where she is hiding in the auditorium was boring, not suspenseful. You knew exactly when someone was going to be killed. The special effects were amateurish at best.The acting was bad.The nudity was silly. The girl was nice looking but if you are going to have a girl go topless for the obligatory nude scene for an 80's slasher homage, then get someone better. Plus the whole scene was absurd. She takes off her top to make out with the guy for a while and then decides to leave him in the pool to "get dressed." What? Plus there was ZERO discussion of the killer. Who was he? Why was he stalking those girls? How did he elude being spotted when he lived in a basement of a much-used academic building easily accessible by a well- lit staircase? Why did he cry when he called to say who was next? What was up with his eyes?I wanted to be entertained by this movie, but when I'm laughing more than cringing, you know its bad.Watch this ONLY if you have seen everything else...and even then, reading a book or cutting the grass may be better options.