SLEEPWALKERS (1992)

Horrorless horror movie from the King of Horror, Stephen King, about a mother/son pair of shapeshifting vampire/cat creatures that can turn invisible and make other things change shape.  The secret of their power is the mothers ability to suck the lifeforce out of female virgins.  Okay.

When the film begins they've just fled California and relocated in Indiana.  The son enters high school and sets his sights on the Madchen Amick from "Twin Peaks".  Wise choice, but instead of just killing her when he's over at her crib, he attacks her while out on a date!  Genius.  The attack goes off like a dry wet fart and she she pokes him in the eye and alerts the cops.  Now the police are hot on their tails.  Meow!

Lame action, lightweight violence, zero gore, zero nudity. I wanted to like this film (and it was an okay time-waster), but there's just not a lot going on. Also, the mother/son duo are unlikable with their cat murdering, plus you never get a clear view of what powers they have or what they're capable of or even what their goal even is!  I guess it's just to live another day so they can bang more. If it wasn't for Madchen Amick, the various genre cameos and multiple Stephen King references I probably would have fallen asleep.  Although, Ferris Bueller's parents showing up kinda blew my mind.

 Stephen King and Clive Barker with Tobe Hooper in the background.

Stephen King and Tobe Hooper.

COMA (1978)

Tense medical thriller about a doctor (Genevieve Bujold) who starts to notice strange things going on at her hospital.  It seems that an unusual number of healthy people are going into a coma after seemingly normal procedures.  Any efforts to investigate or take the matter up with the hospital management are met with resistance.  She then starts investigating on her own.

COMA is a very well-made film.  It looks great and the acting by the impressive cast is top-notch, the only thing that threw me off was why didn't Genevieve's character ever contact the police or even a local news station or newspaper?

COMA fits in well with other paranoia films of the time (THE STEPFORD WIVES, INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS), but unlike those films (where the main victim was pretty much helpless or unaware) the victim here has many, many chances to contact outside help.  Other than that aspect, I liked the film and found the story idea to be really creepy.  Worth watching for fans of 1970's Cinema.

Pointless observation: If you look up the location of the Jefferson Institute on Google Maps (191 Spring St. Lexington, Massachusetts), as of August 2020, they really fixed up that building to look way less sinister and creepy.  Lots of new windows and a new outdoor sitting area. They even got rid of that awful pointy curb that people were probably blowing their tires out on.

Camera crew in reflection.