Sleep Tight
Dir: Jaume Balagueró
Starring: Luis Tosar and Marta Etura
Director Jaume Balagueró has been making quality, dread filled horror films
for some time now. Most known for co-directing both [REC] and [REC
2], Balagueró is an exceptionally well honed director. His films offer a focus
on character and narrative development rather than conventional assisting
elements like jump scares and overdone effects, a welcome trait to the horror
genre. In 1999, The Nameless introduced
Balagueró’s talents to horror fans and he has continued to deliver. With Sleep Tight, a taut and inventive homage
to Psycho and Peeping Tom in some regards, Balagueró solidifies himself as a
genre force to be reckoned with.
It starts on a Monday with Cesar (Luis Tosar), a swanky apartment complex
concierge in Barcelona. Cesar is suffering from depression, in a state of
hopelessness severe enough that he contemplates suicide. However, the one thing
keeping him somewhat stable, if you can call it that, is his adoringly depraved
fascination with Clara (Marta Etura) whom he stalks by sneaking into her
apartment, drugging her, and acting out his decadent relationship while she is
unconscious.
Balagueró does well to keep the film a slow burning exercise in tension and
character development. Cesar is methodical about routine, keeping everything he
can within his controlling grasp. The deadpan performance by Luis Tosar, who is
accustomed to these dark portrayals, is creepy and surprisngly threatening.
Unlike Norman Bates’ motherly manipulation, Cesar seems indulgent in his
sinister motivations; he systematically breaks Clara with unrelenting torments
of the mind and body. Joy is a foreign emotion for Cesar. His mother, in a near
state of catatonia, evokes a minuscule semblance of an emotional reaction from
Cesar. However, the authority she holds for controlling Cesar is gone due to
her health. It’s intersting to suggest her control, because the way Cesar talks
manically to her would advocate a supporter rather than an opposer.
The attention spent with the development of Cesar’s character is expertly
crafted. Much of my praise for this film is because of the performance from
Tosar. His chilling, while calm, demeanor makes him one of the best villains on
film this year. The atmosphere is also well balanced with the apartment complex
offering distinct relatability for city dwellers. How upstanding are the people
we walk next to on a daily basis? Just because someone wears a uniform of
regard doesn’t mean that that embody those same qualities. It’s an interesting
insight offered from the film.
However, Sleep Tight is not a
flawless film. The final transition of Cesar’s character is rushed; forcefully
stripping his character of the subtle nuances of depravity and spiraling him into
full tilt psychopath with one act of aggresion. Though it’s not unbelivable,
there is such care taken throughout the film with his characters personality
traits, the same should have been implemented in his deciding resolution. There
is a great final reveal that shadows this minor error, but it’s nontheless
still relevant in hindsight.
Sleep
Tight is an
unsettling film that is made all the more captivating by the lead performance
from Luis Tosar as Cesar. The slow, meticulous examination of his motivations
is unfortunately rushed in the end, but the process leading up is disturbingly
compelling. The Blu-Ray transfer is good, along with the atmospheric
soundtrack, though it's a little light on extra features. Jaume Balagueró crafts a film principled on a
traditional aspect of horror, mainly that man can be just as terrifying as
monster.
Monte’s Rating
4.00 out of 5.00
No comments:
Post a Comment