‘Sleepwalker’ VOD Review
Stars: Hayden Panettiere, Beverly D’Angelo, Justin Chatwin, Mischa Barton, Lori Tan Chinn, Eric Lutes, Laird LaCoste | Written and Directed by Brandon Auman
Written and directed by Brandon Auman, Sleepwalker expands on Auman’s 2024 short of the same name and delivers a grief-soaked supernatural thriller that leans heavily into mood, performance, and psychological unease rather than outright scares. Starring Hayden Panettiere and Beverly D’Angelo, the film centres on a woman suffering from severe sleep disturbances – nightmares, vivid dream states, and dangerous bouts of sleepwalking – following a traumatic car accident that killed her daughter and left her abusive husband in a coma. Now living with her young son and her mother, something feels off, and the suggestion of an external, possibly supernatural influence soon creeps into the narrative.
What works best here is the atmosphere and performances. Panettiere is solid in the lead, convincingly portraying exhaustion, grief, and creeping paranoia, but it’s Beverly D’Angelo who steals the film. As her new-age, free-spirited mother, she delivers the most memorable lines and brings warmth, humour, and an unexpected gravitas to the story. She’s the emotional anchor, and the film is better whenever she’s on screen.
Sleepwalker plays with the blurred lines between dreams and reality, and while dream logic can sometimes be overused in genre cinema, it largely earns its place here, given the subject matter. There are some genuinely creepy moments, and an intriguing supernatural hook that feels slightly different from the usual haunted-house playbook. Technically, it’s competently put together, though some scenes are too dark visually, even allowing for the nocturnal setting.
Where the film stumbles is in its third act. A genuinely fascinating moral and narrative conundrum is introduced – one that could have pushed the film into more daring territory – but it’s frustratingly glossed over. Worse still, the film hinges on a late twist that feels misjudged, poorly motivated, and logically shaky, undoing much of the goodwill built up beforehand.
Overall, Sleepwalker is an above-average supernatural thriller with strong performances and some smart ideas, but a clumsy final act stops it from fully delivering on its potential.
*** 3/5
Sleepwalker is on limited release in the US now, with a UK debut set for July.
