Sleep Tight

Luis Tosar ist der spanische Norman Bates. Ein paranoider, psychologisch gespannter und zynischer Voyeur-Film, der mehr seine perverse Negativgestalt als ihr Opfer mag. Hoch lebe der kompromisslose Autor, der das Publikum nicht schont. Er bemüht sich nicht um seine Sympathien, sondern schmeißt die Zuschauer*innen lieber ins kalte Wasser. (26.06.2012)

To be honest, I prefer when Balageró sticks to supernatural horror (and I don’t mean only REC, but also Fragile and Darkness), but this detour into the waters of thrillers was very successful. Sleep Tight stands on the portrayal of the protagonist – Luis Tosar is magnificent as the unhappy caretaker César. The tension is effective, the humour is incredibly dark, and, though the more genre savvy viewers will experience déjà vu (there’s been a couple of more or less similar home obsessions in the last few years), you should not feel that Balagueró is wasting his talent. Whatever… I can’t wait until [REC] Apocalypse. (12.04.2012)

Whatever you expect from this, it will still get to you because this quirky genre film perfectly suits Balagueró. Whether it's due to the main character, who is actually likable, or the light-hearted narrative, which has some gentle black humor, through the excellent cast of tenants (the little girl rules, and especially the porn scene!), to the uncompromising finale, where the director doesn't deny what once "made" him. After all this, I'll mostly console myself with the fact that I'm too ugly a guy to be singled out for strange courtesy visits. :) 4 ½. (17.05.2012)

I absolutely didn’t get what the receptionist was doing in that apartment building. It looked like the Spanish were coming up with useless jobs just to reduce their brutal unemployment rate. So the main character seemed completely useless to me and I would have done without him. But on the other hand, there would be no exciting thriller without this character. It is not a horror movie but it is very intense. I liked the fact that the film kept me interested and tense and Marta Etura made it even better with her beauty. The only thing I don’t understand is how the receptionist could get away with all of it. He seemed like a perfectionist but in the end he showed sore real amateurism. A crumbling house of cards is nothing compared to what was happening here. (09.06.2017)

Psycho-Thriller und Horrorfilme werden oft in einen Topf geworfen und noch öfter verwechselt, aber wenn Sie dieses Mal wirklich nur einen Thriller erwarten, werden Sie sich bestens amüsieren. Andernfalls werden Sie sich wahrscheinlich betrogen fühlen. Balagueró leckt den Horror-Genre nur leicht ab, wahrscheinlich nur in zwei gruseligeren Momenten. Ich kann den Eindruck nicht loswerden, dass es sein schwächstes Stück ist, aber trotzdem muss ich wahrscheinlich nicht erwähnen, dass es sich immer noch um überdurchschnittliche Filmemacherei handelt, bei einem Regisseur wie ihm wurde Qualität zur festen Regel. Und außerdem ist es schön, nach langer Zeit wieder mal so einem Bösewicht die Daumen zu drücken. (24.03.2012)

Do you believe that love is the most powerful emotion? Caesar would disagree. The driving force behind his actions is something radically different. Opposite emotions give him the strength to navigate through life, and he is willing to go further and take more risks to invoke them. It's not really a horror and it's not even a "serious" psychological drama about a pathological individual, and it's more of a mischievous thriller, which also includes elements of cynical humor, about a man who has decided to play with his surroundings and not burden himself with limiting morals. It's narrated from the manipulator's perspective, so the viewer is tempted to align with him for a certain period of time. I can't shake the feeling that the film would benefit from more restraint and wouldn't lose any of its impact if the results of Caesar's cruel games included scenes like settling scores with a pet caretaker, where it's understood that words can be deadly. Even in this form, the film doesn't lose its malicious allure, mainly thanks to the presence of Luis Tosar, who confirms that negative roles are more rewarding for actors. However, it is worth noting that there are flaws in the screenplay, and the film would have benefited if the screenwriter had played with it a bit more. Overall impression: 70%. (16.02.2021)

It's an amusing pun in which I didn't really buy the truncated psychology, and I chuckled a few times at the rather simplistic cause-and-effect relationships (be it the actual process of putting the antagonist to sleep or the overall inability to make any kind of impact), but as a cynical take on Psycho, it's great. The motives and relationships between the characters are well fleshed out, and the finale is every bit as disturbing and entertaining as it should be, given its course. And when it gets heated and Balagueró tunes the horror note, it works quite naturally and intensely. 75 % (22.04.2022)

"'As You Sleep' is an example of how it was still possible to make a truly terrifying horror film even in recent years, without using any fantastical elements, but rather relying on a deranged individual who sends chills down your spine. The film is excellently executed both in terms of acting and directing, and definitely ranks among the very best in the horror genre to have ever been made. You won't easily forget such an experience." (03.02.2015)

Well, that was quite perverted! Of course, I can't say I was not excited to see how it would all turn out... I was quite a fan of the somewhat peculiar janitor, but as the end approached, my sympathy for him dwindled somewhat. However, I definitely didn't get bored while watching the film, so the 4 stars I’m giving it are well deserved. (17.03.2020)