Sleepover Nightmare (2005 Video) User Reviews

better than I expected

[charlene3 · 5/10 · 28 June 2005]

First off, I'm not a big fan of slasher movies. I bought Sleepover Nightmare because it was filmed at my favorite performer's house. But it's an okay movie. I'm glad most of the gore was implied rather than explicitly shown! Same for the sex scenes. And the characters at least showed some sense by sticking together once they realized what was happening.

It did seem odd that the party ended so early and most of the kids left so soon, but I suppose that was necessary so more attention could be focused on the main characters.

A question though - don't Canadian cars have airbags, especially the police cars? All those car crashes and not one airbag deployed? Give me a break! Still, I think this is a movie that people who like this genre would enjoy.

Not a terrible movie

[jdutton-6 · 3/10 · 7 January 2006]

This movie could have been set up a lot better and would have actually been a decent movie if it would have been set up right. For starters the majority of the movie should have been night. Night is what instills fear in most people anyway. Also the death scenes were horrible. The one where the guy gets a can stuck into his head is probably the worst. I guess I wasn't aware of the type of material this can was made of obviously to go through someone's head it must have had a razor sharp bottom and been made of something far stronger than an aluminum can. The most expensive piece of equipment that they people who filmed this owned was obviously an underwater camera which they used way way way to much. May have cost you more to get it but it actually made the movie look cheaper than it was. The plot was not terrible overall though it actually showed some potential but it wasn't without flaw. I would however be interested in viewing some other movies by this director if anyone knows of anymore of his movies.

OK script turned badly into a movie

[vttm-07140 · 3/10 · 20 May 2016]

The story is not original at all, but it is exactly more of what slasher fans want: people getting killed by a crazy psycho. In this case, teenagers (it is always them) are killed while in a party, at a remote house, by an unmasked - but long-hair-covering-the-face type of - killer. Pretty innovative, huh? But as I said, it just follows the road of 95% of the other titles in the subgenre. The real problem is that its OK script could have resulted in another average slasher movie, had they been granted more money to get decent producers, directors and actors - I must say that the guy who plays the killer acts well his part, though. It looks as if they used an old Cybershot to record it, giving the tone of a completely amateur project.

A bad film with bad acting, writing, and death scenes.

[Ap0cH · 2/10 · 1 October 2005]

Attention was somewhat lacking after twenty five minutes of this film. While the beginning was interesting, the film itself was simply not as entertaining as the transport car get smashed to bejesus and back.

The whole premise of this film is during a party, the convict that escaped after the transport vehicle was destroyed escapes and hides out on the rich slut estate. The boyfriend cheats on his girl, and in the end it's the male and female main character, the slut, and the cool horny guy who stay the night after a couple of party goers get killed. Aside the token stereotypical Scottish grounds keeper, the film was pretty much boring. Only two of the kills (including the death scene in the killer's origin which isn't as far fetched as it would seem if you read the news) were really believable. I'm sorry but a beer can to the skull would crush and wouldn't penetrate into the brain. While that guy wasn't dead, even the force used to drive it against the skull wouldn't do that much damage.

In the end, the killer becomes inhuman and manages to stand atop a car going 45 while trying to continue his bloody rampage and just won't die. While the premise showed promise, the film was just way too out there and definitely not all that interesting. They made the killer too inhuman and pretty much made it so he could move from one place to another in a matter of seconds, while if I were to run the same distance, it would take ten minutes. A ludicrous film filled with bad acting and bad writing. Only thing it did for me was make me really horny, which really wasn't a help for my single life.

Canadian government funded garbage

[theatre12345678 · 1/10 · 5 June 2006]

Telefilm Canada is government agency that helps fund movies and TV shows. It has been criticized for mostly funding obscure films with little appeal to the general public. It has been trying to fund more mainstream movies but it's too bad they didn't pass on this one. It was on a movie channel and I began watching I immediately assumed it would be a bad movie and it surpassed my expectations. But I was stuck on the couch and wanted to see how bad it would get. After watching the movie I assumed it was a first time director who somehow got the financing together. In Canada productions are often made by people who know how to write the proper grant applications not the people who can produce something of quality. But I found out the director has been around for many years making bad movies and I guess he knows the ins and outs of financing but never learned how to write or direct a movie. I thought at first it might be an over the top movie that was meant to be humorous but that was not the case it was a clichéd slasher film without any redeeming features except the bodies of some of the women in it. But if I want to see attractive woman I can watch an adult movie and they take their clothes off. This movie has no nudity but a fair amount of cleavage. It makes no sense and one doesn't care about any of the characters. Avoid this film. Don't let it make any money and perhaps the Canadian Government will be more careful about financing films. Movies can be mainstream and good at the same time. I hope Telefilm Canada learns that lesson one day.

complete piece of trash

[mikebrombrom · 1/10 · 29 May 2006]

coming from a huge horror fan, i normally have an open mind watching new horror films but i had to rate this film a 1, when it really deserves a -86. this not only was one of the complete worst movies i have ever seen, it is a complete disgrace to horror movies in general. i do not know how this crap even got made. i am not sure what year it was to take place in, but at no time did police cars look like 86' buicks spray painted black. second of all, i thought this was a slasher, since when do slashers not have any blood/gore? that is the point of a slaher film last time i checked. i am still not sure about the "killer" in this movie, OK i get he was an escaped mental patient that looked like an idiot, but was he also a super hero? he sure seemed to throw like one. i could go on forever about this movie, from its awful direction and cinematography to its lighting and its score, not to mention the films amazing acting. why don't these people have an Oscar yet? these people definitely did not even pass drama class in high school.

overall, this is the worst movie i have ever seen and a complete disgrace to horror films, if your going to make a horror film, do it right. i do not recommend this to any person on the planet to watch this piece of filth. Boon Collins, is a disgrace to all horror directors.

pretty good movie

[redneckdan76 · 8/10 · 1 March 2007]

i just watched sleepover nightmare and i liked it. had some cool killings, decent actors, but id o still liked to seen more gore, death and blood, and less sex scenes. yeha it does suck that the party ends before dark, but thats OK, kinda cool to see people all panicky of a killer in the daytime, usually horrors svae the fear til dark to give it more suspense, but this one pulled it off well in the light. i guess this was a straight to video release, so there ain't a ton of special effects, but that don't matter cause the killer was cool, blood looked decent, death scenes were nice. so if you're a fan of horror movies and non that picky, then ya oughta see this one.

A lot better than I thought it would be

[jamiefrancis98 · 6/10 · 27 June 2005]

I have been looking forward to checking this little movie out since it was shot in my area. I came in with very low expectations, but was actually a little surprised by the end. The story is very formulaic 80's fare, yet has a subtle charm. Richard Olak is great as Harry. The acting overall was not too bad, for being a lot of first-timers. The film is overall a little rough though and was not without it's problems. One thing that really bugged me was that the party ends before it even gets dark. What kind of party ends before night? Also it's called Sleepover Nightmare, and there is no real 'sleepover'. Kind of odd, but obviously used to get more focus on the four lead characters. Which is no big deal. The killer is nothing amazing, fairly cheesy and his 'origin' sequence really makes no sense, although some of his kills where very original. For gore hounds, it rates a little lower for the shear fact that most money shots are implied and out of camera frame. Recommended to anyone who is fans of low-budget horror looking for an easy watch.

The best comedy in this month!!!

[dragontown-1 · 10/10 · 25 August 2006]

This movie is fantastic! What a great parody of a horror film - intended or not, it made me laugh for nearly 80 minutes. If you're bored with "Police Academy" or "Muppet Show", rent this one! You're gonna die laughing! The first funny thing is the killer - he looks like a grunge fan from the 90's. The next great thing is that I thought, watching the movie, that it had been done in the late 80s/early 90s and later it turned out it was made a year ago! What an extraordinary vintage stuff! Also, I liked the way the actors had played in the movie. They were so natural as if there was no casting or harsh actor training telling them how to enhance their roles. Everything was superb in this film and I hope there will be at least one sequel.

I love it!!!

Surprisingly good slasher

[slayrrr666 · 8/10 · 22 December 2007]

"Sleepover Nightmare" isn't all that terrible of a slasher, and is pretty good.

**SPOILERS**

Arriving at a secluded lake, Dwight, (Chad R. Rook) introduces new girlfriend Karli, (Hayley Sales) to friends Rick, (Graham Wright) Harry, (Richard Olak) Sara, (Ace Hicks) Yvonne, (Ashleigh Harrington) Quinn, (Jonas Shandel) and Michael, (Benjamin R. Hanson) at a giant party. As he reconnects with old friend Shannon, (Kristine Cofsky) leaving her to his friends, she tries to enjoy the party which gets him jealous. With the rest of the party-goers leaving to have them stay there, they start to realize that something is wrong. With the guests turning up dead, the remaining members find themselves at the mercy of a maniacal killer that has targeted them. Forced to defend themselves from him, they try to get out of the house and away from the killer.

The Good News: This here is a rather impressive slasher entry. This one does have a rather clichéd plot yet manages to have fun with it. There's a great pace to this one, as it's short enough to make it seem really quick without feeling bogged down in unnecessary plot-points. That allows for a lot of great points in the film to really give out some fun parts. There's a fun sequence early on where a group of wasted teens wander upon the killer in the back part of the property and don't think to run, instead thinking he's a member of the party and begin to crack jokes, unaware of the fact that he's concealing a weapon and preparing to strike. It's a pretty fun moment, and along with the last half, is great fun. That last half is the best part of the film, and also contains a lot to like about it. The numerous chase sequences are fantastic, as they take place all over the house and use the surroundings to good use. From the inventiveness of the situation to fantastic amount of intelligence displayed at the characters in the situation, it becomes a lot more fun and realistic. This is even more impressive when it's found out that there's no break from the action. This one starts off and just keeps going, never once stopping once the killer has been realized and just keeps going, which is what makes it a non-stop parade of spectacular suspense scenes. The kills in here aren't that bad, and with it's big body count it has a pretty nice opportunity to do so. There's several in here who get impaled with a spiked gardening pole, another is smashed into a tree trunk from a crashed car, one is nailed to a door facing with a set of kitchen knives stabbed in the back, having a car door smashed repeatedly against the face, being hacked to pieces with an outboard motor and having a beer can forcibly crushed on the forehead. There's more in here, and there's plenty of blood and gore on display from these kills. This one here is a pleasant surprise.

The Bad News: This one here doesn't have a whole lot of flaws. The main one is the fact that this one appears as overly clichéd as just about any other slasher out there. There's nothing really new that this one does that a million other ones haven't done. Once again having a bunch of teens with problems stuck at an isolated location getting picked off one-by-one isn't anything new, and is a plot-line that really doesn't offer up anything that hasn't been seen before. It's something that has been seen before and very easily could be written-off outright due to it being just another slasher that uses a story that has been done hundreds of times before this one. Though this one has fun with it, there's nothing really new and to some, it could be seen as something really hurtful to the film. The fact that the back-story for the killer's motivation doesn't really make any sense is something else to get over. It's such a hackneyed excuse that using it doesn't offer up any clarity and just makes the killer seem more like a really terrible one rather than anything else. These here are the film's main flaws.

The Final Verdict: A rather fun entry in the genre, this one isn't that bad and has some good points to really get going. Recommended to the big slasher fan or those of the direct-to-video craze, while those who are really against those kinds of films will find nothing of real importance here.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Nudity, mild sex scenes and drug use