Slumber is an absolutely atrocious film, and the fact that the always lovely Maggie Q not only stars in, but produces this woeful piece of garbage, just proves there is nothing right with the world. The movie can be summed up in one scene that is repeated more often than it ought to have: Our protagonist, Alice (Miss. Q), is running down a corridor. Perhaps director, Jonathon Hopkins, alongside his editorial staff, were unsure how to craft slow motion, so instead asked 'Maggie, can you run slowly? Yes, that's it. Now, flap your arms like a bird. Good. Now, look horrified, as though you are starring in the worst movie of your career. Even better!'
Jokes aside, Slumber bears similarities to the film, Mara. Both feature a beautiful actress as the lead; both are about the same malicious spirit; both include some of the same plot points. The main difference; Mara went out of its way to showcase lore, while establishing a set of 'rules'. Slumber however, is just a mess.
In the feature, Alice is a sleep doctor, working with colleague, Malcolm (William Hope), who seems to, at first, have a sense of humor, but as the film continues, not only does his role diminish, the performance becomes really phoned in. This description could be allocated to much of the cast, who often seem robotic, particularly in the execution of dialogue - was this directorial guidance, or the actor's interpretation? Not sure I want to know...
Alice has a picturesque lifestyle, with a daughter, and husband, Tom (Will Kemp). No offence intended, but Kemp and Q have zero chemistry together, with Tom having the personality of a spanked blowfish. Under the surface however, Alice continues to be haunted by the death of her brother years before, in the grip of a terrible nightmare, the narrative being too convenient in having Alice revisit her trauma before the film's inciting incident.
Enter the Morgan's, Charlie (Sam Troughton), Sarah (Kristen Bush) and their two children, Daniel and Emily, who are each suffering the same sleep related problems, from sleep walking to debilitating nightmares. Following the death of their infant child, they worry more of their family might be lost if a resolution isn't found. Not everything is as it seems however, with science unable to provide a rational explanation for what's happening.
The blurb on the box; the marketing material; and the descriptions online, all unwittingly announce that the supernatural is at play here, completing killing the suspense right out of the gate. Through an intermediary, Alice happens upon Amado (Sylvester Mccoy), a survivor of the nightmarish fiend plaguing the family. Mccoy hams it up to an 11, making for one of the film's more interesting characters, though like much of the feature, the script is unsure what to do with him. Other times, his performance is inconsistent, as though the director was telling him 'please, less cheese this time.'
Occasionally, the imagery of floating bodies, suspended in mid-air, is a good visual, while the inclusion of the rare POV shot; birds-eye view and transition, adds to the character of the movie. However, for each of these positives, there is an equal detractor. Sudden sporadic cuts are not very elegant, jumping to another scene before we've had the chance to relish what's going on. The film is overly repetitive; the same dream sequence; the exact same attacks by the 'demon'; even the images from the title sequence appear again and again and again and again and yawn!
Certain scenes focus on a wealth of smiling toys, as an attempt to create tension, which is inadvertently counter-intuitive, while the use of clichéd music to tell us 'something bad is happening!' gets old. Of course, when we hear the 'monster' manically laughing, then we reach an all new level of garbage.
Further to this, the movie loves to use Wikipedia; as I tell my students, you should never include Wikipedia as a reference in your essays - it's not professional. I think the filmmakers here could have learned from that. To be fair, I don't really like trashing movies; especially films with the angel that is Maggie Q. That said, when watching Slumber, I was often unsure whether I should laugh or cry. This is not one of those 'so bad it's good' films; rather, it's 'so bad it's awful.'
Jokes aside, Slumber bears similarities to the film, Mara. Both feature a beautiful actress as the lead; both are about the same malicious spirit; both include some of the same plot points. The main difference; Mara went out of its way to showcase lore, while establishing a set of 'rules'. Slumber however, is just a mess.
In the feature, Alice is a sleep doctor, working with colleague, Malcolm (William Hope), who seems to, at first, have a sense of humor, but as the film continues, not only does his role diminish, the performance becomes really phoned in. This description could be allocated to much of the cast, who often seem robotic, particularly in the execution of dialogue - was this directorial guidance, or the actor's interpretation? Not sure I want to know...
Alice has a picturesque lifestyle, with a daughter, and husband, Tom (Will Kemp). No offence intended, but Kemp and Q have zero chemistry together, with Tom having the personality of a spanked blowfish. Under the surface however, Alice continues to be haunted by the death of her brother years before, in the grip of a terrible nightmare, the narrative being too convenient in having Alice revisit her trauma before the film's inciting incident.
Enter the Morgan's, Charlie (Sam Troughton), Sarah (Kristen Bush) and their two children, Daniel and Emily, who are each suffering the same sleep related problems, from sleep walking to debilitating nightmares. Following the death of their infant child, they worry more of their family might be lost if a resolution isn't found. Not everything is as it seems however, with science unable to provide a rational explanation for what's happening.
The blurb on the box; the marketing material; and the descriptions online, all unwittingly announce that the supernatural is at play here, completing killing the suspense right out of the gate. Through an intermediary, Alice happens upon Amado (Sylvester Mccoy), a survivor of the nightmarish fiend plaguing the family. Mccoy hams it up to an 11, making for one of the film's more interesting characters, though like much of the feature, the script is unsure what to do with him. Other times, his performance is inconsistent, as though the director was telling him 'please, less cheese this time.'
Occasionally, the imagery of floating bodies, suspended in mid-air, is a good visual, while the inclusion of the rare POV shot; birds-eye view and transition, adds to the character of the movie. However, for each of these positives, there is an equal detractor. Sudden sporadic cuts are not very elegant, jumping to another scene before we've had the chance to relish what's going on. The film is overly repetitive; the same dream sequence; the exact same attacks by the 'demon'; even the images from the title sequence appear again and again and again and again and yawn!
Certain scenes focus on a wealth of smiling toys, as an attempt to create tension, which is inadvertently counter-intuitive, while the use of clichéd music to tell us 'something bad is happening!' gets old. Of course, when we hear the 'monster' manically laughing, then we reach an all new level of garbage.
Further to this, the movie loves to use Wikipedia; as I tell my students, you should never include Wikipedia as a reference in your essays - it's not professional. I think the filmmakers here could have learned from that. To be fair, I don't really like trashing movies; especially films with the angel that is Maggie Q. That said, when watching Slumber, I was often unsure whether I should laugh or cry. This is not one of those 'so bad it's good' films; rather, it's 'so bad it's awful.'