An unoccupied mind can be dangerous and even self-destructive to the body. “Without sleep” is an excellent confirmation of this, and precisely in a cinematic format: all the creativity and promising main theme are buried under disgusting visual effects, repetitive scenes, poor acting and contradictory logic.
In 1986, a group of graduate students developed a new drug that could “cure people from sleep.” In other words, after taking the miracle pill, sleep no longer becomes a vital necessity. However, after the subject commits suicide, the project manager leaves his assistants. One of the scientists convinces the others to continue the experiment, having tested the medicine on himself.
Touted as a horror movie, Sleepless is more like a science fiction thriller. The spirit of the tape makes you remember such works as “Komatozniki” and, of course, “Nightmare on Elm Street”, but only by first impression. It is clear that the creators of “No Sleep” tried to do something of their own, the author’s, which came out sideways: many things here are clearly out of place. From the ideas can be noted, perhaps, the soundtrack. Musical accompaniment from the 80s even from time to time amusing, building the concept of thrash horror of that era, which is also influenced by the presentation of material in the spirit of recordings from the VHS cassette.
“No Sleep” is a conceptual error. The characters here are representatives of the classics of the genre, but this is not the saddest. Rapid dynamics undermine the solid foundation of the first act. The development of tension gives way to long, poorly written dialogues and a slow walk from room to room. Heroes desperately try to explain to each other (and the viewer) what is happening, but only more confused.
The visual effects and design of the monsters are already quite dull. When it comes to CGI effects, the whole modest budget is visible. The use of computer graphics (particularly outdated) almost doesn’t work in the context of a film; it might be more interesting if it was shown much less; at least it would play on the secret.
While "No Sleep" captivates with its interesting theme, in fact, all this translates into a banal and cheap work. Stressful moments in “Without sleep” is clearly lacking, which is why you do not get authentic experience: thrash is thrash.
2 out of 10