I had a rough time trying to sleep so a 4am showing of LEPTIRICA was in order. I chose this film based on its runtime hoping that a film barely an hour long would help relax me and get me back to sleep and what I found was a really pleasant surprise out of the first horror film from Yugoslavia/Serbia. LEPTIRICA aka She-Butterfly is a vampire type tale based on a story called After Ninety Years from 1880. This film is definitely schlocky and even with its very modest runtime it has a good bit of padding but there's just something intangible about this movie that connects with me. I'm not sure if it is the director trying to create something Jean Rollin-esque, or the makeup effects that make Paul Naschy's wolf man design look like a million bucks but this movie is just endearing and simplistic in its execution. It is not only a piece of horror history but worth seeking out.
SLEEP NO MORE, a straight to DVD psychological horror film based around the idea a study group has that after 200 hours without sleep the human body will never again need sleep. Of course this leads to all sorts of problems as their inner nightmares, fears and demons begin to torment them as their brains turn against them leading to the entire group trying to find a way to maintain their sanity. By this point in the day I was fighting off sleep as the long night and busy day had caught up to me. This has nothing to do with the movie itself as it was engaging and pretty decent all around. The physical manifestations of the inner demons were a bit clunky looking and it never got above that hump that separates good movies from great movies but it met my expectations and it had a neat little score.
SLEEP NO MORE was released on DVD by RLJ Entertainment today and can be found on any major online movie retailer and is currently on Wal Mart store shelves
The day wrapped up with the 1984 slasher FATAL GAMES. And all I can ask is where the hell is the blu-ray of this thing? Hell it didn't even get a DVD release. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a top notch slasher. It's on the cheap side, and the kills are a bit one note with a mysterious killer in jogging pants running around an athletic facility killing people with javelins but there's enough of them to keep it dirty and the skin factor is next level because there's constantly naked women. The killer's motive and reveal was crazy and there's an awesome opening theme song. This is one of those slasher films that keeps me excited about discovering slashers I've missed out on.
Today's Rundown
Leptirica - 6.5/10
Sleep No More - 5.5/10
Fatal Games - 6/10
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