Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

BeSummers Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Foreverisacastironmess This isn't exactly a movie that I would deem a forgotten classic, but it's certainly a hidden gem and I can get why it's fondly remembered by pretty much anyone who caught it during its original run on TV. I found it almost right from the start to be a very solid and worthwhile watch that rises above its considerable limitations thanks to a good cast and a very compelling and for me, ultimately satisfying mystery horror story that pays off. Much like another exceptional vintage TV horror movie, "Dark Night of the Scarecrow", it's a terrific example of less being a lot more. It's very subtle and light in the use of its horrors, and to me in this instance it makes the film come off as more engaging and enjoyable because of it. It was good to see a nice old-fashioned scary movie stand on its own merit without relying on gore, nudity, or even a single solitary gosh-darned naughty word! Part of the reason I like it is because to look at it really isn't much of anything at all, in fact it looks more like a 70s picture than an 80s one. At the beginning the story is very plain and average, but before you know it shocking things begin to happen and the tone becomes stranger and stranger, and it gradually builds up to something that I found to be quite profoundly chilling. The homely filming locations help set an eerie summer atmosphere and hazy air of mystery that works very well to the film's advantage. You know, a viewpoint aided by the fact that it has a very young and neurotic shouty Oliver Robbins in it, is that it could be seen as a kind of anti-Poltergeist movie, only in this one the family loses big time! To me that's what really makes it stand out from a lot of other horror movies of the time, that in an era of family-centred horrors where, generally no matter what happens, the sacred family unit will at least prevail and more or less make it out okay, this unknown was the one that had the balls to actually kill off that unit, and with a child nonetheless! It's all done in a very modest way with the violence being implied rather than graphic, but it was still shocking and very daring to me, I was taken aback by how ruthless a movie it was with its characters. In that regard it is a lot more brutal than most other horror flicks that I've seen! I mean jeez, they kill old funny gal grandma, bratty little brother, amiable alcoholic father, and one poor girl is condemned to a psych ward for life for crimes that may not have even truly been her own fault! The body count is low, but they are characters that are given just enough development that you care a little, and I like how they take the time to touch upon the grief , like in a scene where Valerie Harper and Dennis Weaver have a big dramatic confrontation over their son's death. Both actors get genuinely worked up and into it and it's a very heartbreaking scene. Big props to Robin Ignico as "Mary", she really steals the whole show as she gradually transforms from a seemingly regular little girl with a dark secret to a small adult as she is corrupted by the merciless ghost of her sister "Jennifer", who preys upon Mary's guilt and unconfronted grief at letting her die to manipulate her into doing away with most of her own family! I love the brilliant climactic scene that sees Mary looking like hell in a straight-jacket in a padded room being interrogated by a doctor, where it finally reveals what really happened on the night of Jennifer's fiery death, and it's a doozie! The revolving camera and overhead shots are stylish and disorienting. They reveal a lot of vital information in those few minutes that perhaps would have better been spread out over the whole film, not that most people wouldn't have figured out the twist already.. The little epilogue is so nightmarish as Jennifer finally has her mommy right where she wants her and you see the surreal and memorable image of her silhouette rise from the bottom of the bed and then emerge into the light with a hideous frozen grin on her face... The first time I watched? Could freaking not get that leering face out of my head for the rest of the night, it was like it was superimposed onto my retinas! It was an awesome and over-the-top way to end the film on a high note and it gave me a great chill, loved it! Tiny nitpick, as much as I like how there turned out to really be a Jennifer, just think how much more disturbing a film it would be if Mary had been schizophrenic and had a split-personality the whole time, and the approach to the horror would have been revealed as psychological rather than supernatural. It's far from a perfect film, it drags and lacks in parts and is a slow-burn for sure..but as far as sheer creep-factor goes, "Don't Go to Sleep" delivers very handsomely. And one thing that it certainly never made me wanna do was go to sleep!!

PaulJ7460 It's funny reading how many people remember this movie. I was one who saw it originally in 1982 on ABC and was probably impatiently waiting for them to re-run it, because I liked it so much. Well, I have the repeat telecast from 1985 from "The ABC Saturday Night Movie." It drove me crazy to find it on an old VHS tape. I just converted it to DVD so I have the complete version. I don't know if this movie was ever cut when it was shown in syndication which is usual for more commercial time. I guess I have a found gem and should put it on ebay or ioffer.com. The acting is pretty good and Valerie harper and Ruth Gordon are priceless. Dennis Weaver always seems to get parts of a drunken father or abusive husband (see "Intimate Strangers"). See this movie if you can!

adkins_taylor1 watch-movies-online.TV has a copy of this movie. It is amazingly done especially for its time and TV-movie status. I first saw this movie when I was 7 or 8 years old and all I remembered was bits and pieces. I have looked and looked for a way to find even the title to this movie. I talked to movie buffs and finally entered the correct key words into google search and found a summary that fit my memory. I then began looking for a copy of this movie, and though it definitely should have been, it wasn't released on video. today a friend introduced me to the website above and for giggles and hahas I looked to see if it had this movie. It did and after watching it again, I found that it was not just my age that made this movie scary. It is a genuine suspense/thriller.

Coventry Judging by the unspectacular synopsis and unremarkable VHS cover art, "Don't go to Sleep" looks like one of those random and unremarkable made-for-TV thriller/horror films of the early eighties, but it actually becomes a pleasantly surprising and rewarding experience when you finally decide to give it a viewing chance. This is a genuinely creepy, hugely atmospheric, convolutely scripted and originally themed thriller with astonishing acting performances from the entire cast (including the children) and a couple of jump moments you aren't likely to forget throughout your whole life. There isn't any gore or sleazy here, since it's a TV-movie, but the solid screenplay all the more proves that not a single drop of blood is required in order to saddle up the audience with nightmares. The movie begins with a family of four moving into grandmother's big house. Some time earlier, their oldest daughter Jennifer died in a horrible car accident and particularly the other daughter, Mary, had a rough time processing the loss. Already the first night, it seems as if the restless and furious spirit of Jennifer rudely attempts to get into contact with Mary through eerie noises and even by setting her bad on fire. Apparently Jennifer blames her entire family for her untimely death and seeks vengeance through her little sister. Or perhaps it's just Mary who still hasn't dealt with her death and requires urgent psychiatric help? With "Don't go to Sleep", director Richard Lang builds up slowly but surely towards a devastating and indescribably tense climax that literally left me speechless. Throughout the middle section there are a few loose ends and slightly incoherent sequences, but the last 15 to 20 minutes are sheer adrenalin rushing creepiness. Even the inevitable and necessary dose of melodrama – following the death of another young child – is extremely well handled and plausible. The movie owes a lot of its power and impact to the terrific performances of the entire cast, and particularly of the three child actors depicting the family's offspring. Usually, child characters in horror tend to be very annoying and even prevent the films from being shocking, but that definitely isn't the case here. Oliver Robbins (the kid from "Poltergeist") is more than decent as the sister-teasing brat son, and Robin Ignico and Kristin Cummings are both tremendous as the deadly girls' duo. Never knew little girls wearing traditional dresses could be this scary! If you're a real thriller/horror buff, don't sleep before you track down a copy of this marvelous film!