Laura Baxter is a young woman, literally a "sleeping beauty," who suffers from a medical condition called "parasomnia." A childhood accident victim, she is actually sleeping her life away, awakening briefly on rare occasions. Art student Danny Sloan falls in love with her, unaware that her hospital neighbor, a terrifying mass murderer and mesmerist named Byron Volpe has other, more sinister plans.
Production
Expressionist hospital sets that look like a Tim Burton fever dream on a budget
Practical Effects
Byron Volpe's mesmeric stare achieved through genuine contact lens discomfort
Score
Nicholas Pike's lush orchestral horror, wasted on too few listeners
Director
William Malone
Cherilyn Wilson
Laura Baxter
Sean Young
Madeline Volpe
Patrick Kilpatrick
Byron Volpe
Dylan McKnight
Danny Sloan
Jeffrey Combs
Detective Garrett
Timothy Bottoms
Dr. Corso
Alison Brie
Darcy
Kathryn Leigh Scott
Nurse Evans
Janet Tracy Keijser
Sara
Jeff Doucette
Detective Conroy
Dov Tiefenbach
Billy
Valorie Hubbard
Mrs. Mulliner
Veronica Hart
TV Field Reporter
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Malone's parasomnia research included actual sleep disorder clinics; Laura's condition blends real parasomnias with fairy-tale logic.
The film's troubled distribution saw it shelved for two years; Malone financed reshoots personally, expanding Volpe's role after test audiences responded to Kilpatrick's genuinely unsettling presence.
US
