The Sleeper Information

The Sleeper is a 2012 horror film written and directed by Justin Russell.

Plot

In 1979, a giggling man with milky white eyes (credited as "The Sleeper") breaks into a bedroom in the Alpha Gamma Theta sorority house, and attacks the resident with a hammer. Two years later, the sorority is organizing a party to welcome new pledges, an event that prompts the return of the Sleeper, who has been living on the campus in secret, spying on the Alpha Gamma Thetas, and threatening them over the phone.

On the day of the party, the Sleeper sneaks into the sorority, murders Cindy, and hides her body. The next night, the Sleeper strikes again, ripping Rebecca's face off in a gym locker room, and killing Stacy, her suitor Derek, and an employee at a pool hall. As these homicides occur, Cindy's boyfriend Bobby goes to the police to report Cindy's disappearance, and he and Detective Drake learn that Rebecca and Stacy have gone missing after the detective calls the sorority. Drake sends Bobby home, and goes to the sorority while the Sleeper kills Matt, a boy who had walked Alpha Gamma Theta pledge Amy to her dormitory.

Amy discovers she has been left a message by the Sleeper just before Drake calls to ask her if she has seen any of the missing co-eds. Drake advises Amy to come to the Alpha Gamma Theta house (where they are setting up a phone tap) when she tells him about the message she had received. The Sleeper's calls are traced to an old storm cellar in Jacob's Hall, so Drake heads there. Two officers are left to watch the house, but the Sleeper manages to get inside, and kills everyone in the building (including Bobby when he drops by) besides Amy. The Sleeper wounds Drake when he returns, chases Amy through the campus, and to his lair, where Amy stabs him.

Amy is found by a patrolling officer, and taken to a hospital, where she is informed by a doctor that Drake is in the ICU, and the Sleeper was caught. As she tries to rest, Amy answers a ringing phone, and screams when she realizes it is the Sleeper.

Cast

• Brittany Belland as Amy
• E. Ray Goodwin as Detective Drake
• Jason Jay Crabtree as The Sleeper
• Elizabeth Lane as June
• Jenna Fournier as Laura
• Riana Ballo as Stacy
• Jessica Cameron as Cindy
• Tiffany Arnold as Rebecca
• Ali Ferda as Ava
• Kendra Stevenson as First Sister
• Beverly Kristy as Miss Joy
• Paul Moon as Bobby
• Eric Sarich as Derek
• Aaron Russell as Matt Matheson
• Joe Bob Briggs as Doctor Briggs
• Dana Jackson as Pool Attendant
• Luke Frost as Detective James
• Bob Ferrato as Officer John Johnson
• Mark Russell as Ending Officer
• Susan Russell as Police Secretary
• Justin Russell as Disco DJ

Reception

Dread Central gave The Sleeper a four out of five, stating it "stands as the best homage to early eighties filmmaking since Ti West's amazing The House of the Devil". The film also made it as an honorable mention on one of the website's "Best of 2012" lists, where the reviewer wrote "it gets everything right: the pacing, the atmosphere, the settings... Russell nails it. Here's a guy who understands the slasher film, and I look forward to his next outing as a result".

The attempt to recreate an eighties atmosphere was criticized by Film Bizarro, which felt the film was trying so hard in that department that it became annoying and distracting. Other than that, the website gave The Sleeper a positive review, stating it had good atmosphere, cinematography, and death scenes, and passable acting.