Welcome to the Scream Factory Crypt! In this binge series I will be watching all my Scream Factory titles I own alphabetically or sometimes randomly! Scream Factory is my favorite imprint of Blu-Ray’s because they take movies that studios and the public might not adore but have fans and deserve to be given respect. This will take a long time as I have over 163(!) titles and counting, I know I will have more before I finish, so stay tuned!  Not only will I talk about them on the podcast but I will review them here as well so you can see how I feel about aspects of each release.

Part 26: Sleepwalkers

Charles (Brian Krause) and his mother (Alice Krige) move to a small Indiana town to start a new life. The reason they’ve moved is they are some sort of vampire/werecat hybrid that must feast on a virgin’s energy.

Charles sets his sights on Tanya Robertson (Madchen Amick) the beautiful lady who works at the local movie theater. Soon, Tanya is smitten with Charles, unaware she may soon fall prey to his and his mother’s thirst.

Charles and his mother, Mary do have a weakness. Cats can sense them and seem to have the ability to hunt and kill them. After a run in with a local cop, Andy Simpson (Dan Martin) and his cat Clovis, Charles is exposed and must ramp up his efforts to kill Tanya.

Sleepwalkers is a strange, gory, and absolutely a fun time. Written by Stephen King, from a story not from a published book, Sleepwalkers is a little insane. Not all the rules of the monsters are spelled out, like they can turn invisible and make cars actually change what type they are. Also, are they energy sucking vampires, or werecats with incredible powers, but can be taken out by mere house cats? And who can forget about the incest? It’s a weird one.

In watching the film, it is best not to ask these questions and just have a good time. If you do this, you will enjoy your time with Sleepwalkers.

What also helps is the film is directed with flair by Mick Garris. He fully understands what he needs to accomplish, and he does so with confidence. Be on the lookout for a fun scene featuring some of the biggest names in horror, from Stephen King to Tobe Hopper, Clive Barker, John Landis and Joe Dante.

Madchen Amick is great in the film. When we first meet her, and she is rocking out to The Contours’ Do You Love Me? You can see why Charles has picked her. Alice Krige is the right kind of monster mom here. She is terrifying and a loving mother, sometimes in the same scene.

Although Sleepwalkers does not get a fresh scan for its Collector’s Edition release, the transfer still looks really sharp. Most of the horror does take place during the day and is bright and full of color. When the film switches to night a few blemishes pop up.

Sleepwalkers purrs on blu-ray with a healthy 5.1 DTS-HD mix. The music, dialogue and sound effects all sound great. Sleepwalkers is an audio delight.

Since this is a Collector’s Edition Scream Factory has packed Sleepwalkers with some terrific extras.

Commentary with Mick Garris, Madchen Amick and Brian Kruase: is a fun breezy commentary that is worth a listen.

Feline Trouble-An Interview with Director Mick Garris-A great time sitting down with the director. If you’ve listened to Garris’ podcast Post Mortem then you know he is great at telling stories.

When Charles Met Tanya-This interview sits down with stars Madchen Amiken and Brian Kruase.

Mother and More-Is a really great, in-depth interview with the great Alice Krige. Lots of juicy acting bits here.

Creatures and Cats-Tony Gardner is on hand to talk about the creature and special effects.

Behind the Scenes Footage-an interesting look at the creature effects, plus some footage of cat wrangling.

A still gallery, TV spots and a trailer is also included.

Sleepwalkers is weird. It is also a lot of fun. Scream Factory has given this film its Collector’s Edition banner and it doesn’t disappoint.

Film: B

Video: B+

Audio: A-

Extras: A

Overall: B+