Director: Jaume Balaguero
Screenplay: Alberto Marini
Starring: Luis Tosar, Marta Etura
Synopsis is here
My girlfriend is quite weary about some of the "darker"
films I end up watching. She is in no way a fan of being scared, frighten or
creeped out in the slightest. Because of this, I have a mental list of movies
that I remind myself that I shouldn't watch in her presence. Soon after
finishing Jaume Balaguero's (REC) disturbing Spanish thriller; Sleep Tight, I
quickly added the film to the top of an ever growing list. She doesn't need
this in her life.
Sleep Tight plays
out as if Balaguero invaded the head of my other half, scooped out a few of her
primal fears (home invasion being a large one) and laid them out delicately for all to see.
We wholeheartedly embrace the notion that we are safe when we are
cuddled up under the covers of our comfy beds blissfully unaware of
the world around us. Beleguero pounces on our nativity and drags us
through the wringer with a film that takes absolute delight in its unsettling
nature.
Part of what
brings the fear is the simplicity of the situation. We quickly take
notice of the ease and access that Cesar (Tosar) has as the apartment
concierge. He has to ability to enter any room with the apartment whenever he
wishes. The glint of his eye as he lies under a bed is disconcerting. Those
with a personally disorder often display superficial charm. Cesar
pulls off politeness in a blink of an eye. No one seems to be aware of him
being dishonest in any way. Sleep Tight makes you aware of tiny moments that
don't sit right. What's scary is that in the same position, we'd be just as
blissfully unaware as the happy go lucky Clara (Etura), the unfortunate target
of Cesar's extreme behaviour.
Balaguero delivers
a compact and tightly wound project. While it doesn't hold the hectic nature of
his earlier work; REC (2007), the film burns down at a swift pace,
hitting all its disturbing beats with a satisfying thump. Negative reviews may
wish to seek out a more solid rationale for Cesar's madness, but we shouldn’t
forget just how much more troubling such habits can be when the reasoning
behind it is so vague. If after watching Sleep Tight you second guess the
politeness of a colleague or give the bed a quick check before going
to bed, then the film has done its job.
