Sleepless might be Dario Argento's last truly good movie. It's far from perfect and never quite reaches the stylistic heights of his 70's and 80's work, but it's a somewhat smart re-imagining of the giallo film with enough gory set pieces to keep the gorehounds satisfied and just enough twists and turns to keep the mystery fans on their toes.
Max Von Sydow plays an aging detective brought back into a murder case 20 years later when it appears that the murderer has returned to continue their killing spree. He's joined by the son of one of the victims and, together, they team up to figure out who's behind all this mayhem.
Sleepless has its high points - the opening train sequence might be one of Argento's best and all the murder set pieces are inventive and filled with shockingly good effects that are sure to make you cringe. Also, Goblin has reunited to give us one of their most effective scores that helps the film tremendously.
There are pacing issues in the middle section of the film and the two young leads aren't as well written or interesting as one would like which makes many of their scenes drag and feel like work to get through. It's no slight to the actors, because I don't think it's their fault at all. The murder mystery is at least interesting and the killer's reveal is at least a genuine surprise.
Sleepless won't be classified by anyone as top tier Argento, but it's one of his best post-80's works.
