MicroReview: The Sleeper (2012)

In 1981, new pledges are welcomed to a sorority and the Sleeper clandestinely spies on the girls - prompting to kill them at their most vulnerable.

Review

Justin Russell (Death Stop Holocaust) delivers on his direction of 2012 come 1981 slasher The Sleeper. Looking at his back catalog, it seems that he excels at exactly this. The Sleeper, set in 1981 is a period slasher, which was heavily influenced by films such as Black Christmas. And it is good at it. However, Russell is also responsible for the writing of the film, and it is near plotless. Put frankly, The Sleeper is a collection of kills. Granted, for the most part the kills are well enough done, with lashings of gore and practical effects - all very 80s, but there is nothing holding them together. I won't class this as a spoiler, simply because there is nothing to spoil - the killer has no backstory (weirdly, given there is an opening kill from two years beforehand), and nothing is resolved.

It's just some dude killing sorority girls in more and more gruesome ways.

Which, if it's your bag, is no bad thing.

The acting is okay, with nothing in particular standing out either good or bad. The film is scary from the "who'll die next?" point of view, but lacking in any character depth, so who really cares?

This one is simply for those who want an 80s slasher they haven't seen yet. Personally, I'd rewatch Halloween.