SLEEP TIGHT DVD (2011)

SYNOPSIS: Working as an apartment block concierge, Cesar takes full advantage of his position, sneaking into the flat of beautiful tenant Clara almost nightly- with the unsuspecting victim having absolutely no idea. We begin with the image of Cesar contemplating suicide, professing his deep unhappiness in what is a fruitless livelihood. You wake day after day to the comfort and security of your home. But how safe is it really? 

MOVIE REVIEW:

Taking a break from his enormously successful found-footage [REC] franchise, Spanish director Jaume Balaguero returns to more classical horror with the gripping thriller ‘Sleep Tight’. Like the first two [REC] films, this one is mostly set in an apartment building, but the horror here lies not in flesh-biting zombies but rather in a deceptively charming middle-aged man working as the building’s concierge.

Cesar (Luis Tosar), we learn from his monologue at the start, is a deeply unhappy man, so much so that he questions what happiness really means in life - a fact you won’t be able to guess from his crisply cordial manner in which he greets the residents in the building. One particular resident though, Clara (Marta Etura), has him fascinated; while he grapples with despondency, she seems to radiate just the opposite from within, perpetually smiley and cheery, a perfect complement to her stunning good looks.

Adapting from his own novel, Alberto Manni unfolds the extent of his obsession over the course of two weeks. Cesar isn’t some guy pining for Clara’s attention; rather, he seeks to thoroughly disrupt Clara’s seemingly perfect life, and in doing so, crush her particularly adamant optimism. Yes, Cesar’s cure to his own unhappiness to make others miserable, and as twisted as that may sound, it’s not hard to find such people in real life who delight in others’ misery.

Thankfully, not everyone is as empowered as Cesar is, who makes full use of his position to gain access to Clara’s apartment nightly, lying in wait for her underneath her bed for her to fall asleep and then knocking her out with chloroform. He starts by injecting a liquid into her skin cream to give her rashes, but when that - and the disturbing anonymous letters and text messages he sends doesn’t work - he infests her apartment with roaches. But the extent of his terror only begins evident much later on, when it is becomes clear that Cesar does more than just lie naked next to her in bed at night.

There’s no doubt Cesar is a monster, and the brilliance in Tosar’s performance is how easily his audience - together with the many residents in the apartment - are swept up by his affable veneer. This isn’t your typical psycho with the crooked smile and the sullen demeanour; rather, he comes off friendly and helpful even, greeting the residents on their way in and out the building, striking up casual everyday conversations with elderly resident Veronica (Petra Martinez) and offering to assist Clara to clear her choked sink and fumigate her apartment (no matter that he was responsible for both). Tosar is disturbingly good in the role, his malevolence so masterfully hidden you can’t quite decide whether to be impressed or be revolted by his character.

His compelling perf is beautifully complemented by Balaguero’s excellent grasp of pacing and atmosphere. Using the levers in Manni’s tightly coiled screenplay, he keeps the mood intensely disquieting - and one of the best sequences that sees Cesar trapped in the apartment with Clara and Marcos trying to avoid being seen is an exercise in pure suspense. Clearly inspired by the old-school genre masters like Hitchcock, Balaguero strives for the same kind of white-knuckle tension as “Psycho” - particularly since there is something Norman Bates-like about Cesar - and succeeds impressively.

Unlike [REC] or its sequel however, ‘Sleep Tight’ doesn’t quite have the same shock and awe effect - which is probably why our local distributors have opted not to give it a theatrical release. Don’t let that fool you into thinking this is some B-grade horror though - instead, Balaguero proves with this taut psychological thriller that he is just as comfortable with slow-building horror as in-your-face terror. It is also very artfully done, which explains why it has been as well received critically as it has been commercially in its home country. 

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The Dolby Digital 2.0 audio is decent, though not particularly outstanding for a movie which would clearly have benefited from a nice 5.1 surround track. Visuals are similarly passable - at least the contrast in the dimly lit scenes at night is well balanced. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Gabriel Chong