The Sleeping Room
| The Sleeping Room | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | John Shackleton |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Simon Poulter |
| Edited by | John Gillanders |
| Music by | Paul Saunderson |
Production company | Movie Mogul Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 78 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Sleeping Room is a 2014 British horror film that was directed by John Shackleton.[1] It had its world premiere on 23 August 2014 at the London FrightFest Film Festival and stars Leila Mimmack as a call girl that finds herself entangled in a series of strange events surrounding a hidden room.[2] Funding for The Sleeping Room was raised using equity crowdfunding and is credited as being the first British film to use this method.[3]
Plot
Blue (Leila Mimmack) is a call girl working out of Brighton that has been sent out to an old building that Bill (Joseph Beattie) is trying to restore. She's somewhat surprised when he shows little interest in having sex with her, but ends up staying in the house with him since he has paid for her time. As she is looking around Blue discovers a mutoscope, through which she sees a series of moving images depicting a hooded man (Christopher Adamson). Shortly after that, Blue and Bill discover a secret room that is the key to unlocking many dark and terrifying secrets relating to Blue’s family, and the death of her mother
Cast
- Julie Graham as Cynthia
- Christopher Adamson as Fiskin
- Joseph Beattie as Bill
- Chris Waller as Glenny
- Leila Mimmack as Blue
- David Sibley as Freddie
- Lucy Clements as Helena
- Nicola Colmer as TV presenter
- Billy Chainsaw as Neighbour
- Mike Altmann as Jim Whipps
- Antonia Northam as Abigail
- Chrisanthe Grech as Librarian
- Barry Kristopher Sullivan as TV presenter
Reception
The film received generally negative reviews from critics, though it must be noted that the number of reviews is limited due to its limited release. It currently does not hold a critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, with just one review. However, it has a 0% audience score based on 21 reviews, making it the worst received British film by audience score of 2014.
Nerdly gave The Sleeping Room a four star review and wrote "A superb example of modern British horror, The Sleeping Room, like fellow Frightfest movie The Forgotten, marks a new bright future for genre filmmaking in the UK that, in a perfect world, would be held in the same esteem as Hammer’s prolific output."[4] Anton Bitel of Grolsch Film Works also praised The Sleeping Room, stating "Once the possessions and ghostly manifestations have fully kicked in, it all becomes a little Punch and Judy ... but The Sleeping Room works best as an incestuous love letter to Brighton and the town's darker, ever-present history."[5] Shock Till You Drop gave a mixed review for The Sleeping Room, writing "While the leads are appealing and Fiskin is very creepy looking, the mystery fails to deliver suspense or scares. The snuff films are meant to terrify, but they are more silly than scary as glimpsed through an old machine. And the conclusion, a dragged out chase and showdown in the old building, is perfunctory and fairly dull, making a short movie feel much longer than it actually is."[6] Others were more critical such as Top 10 Films which, in its one-star review, praised the performance of actress Leila Mimmack but felt the film was handicapped by a convoluted script that contained "one-note characters" and a reliance on "horror tropes". It wrote: "[John] Shackleton never knows whether to stick or twist leaving The Sleeping Room engaging the wrong gears like a premature learner driver behind the wheel for the first time."[7]
References
- ^ Whittington, James. "Interview With John Shackleton co-writer and Director of the Sleeping Room". Horror Channel. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
- ^ Williams, Owen. "Exclusive: first comments/photos from haunted-brothel chiller The Sleeping Room". Fangoria. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
- ^ Sandwell, Ian. "Sleeping Room using equity crowdfunding". Screen Daily. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
- ^ Wheat, Phil. "Frightfest 2014: 'The Sleeping Room' Review". Nerdly. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
- ^ Bitel, Anton. "FRIGHTFEST 2014: THE SLEEPING ROOM". Grolsch Film Works. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
- ^ Doro, Paul. "FrightFest 2014 Review: The Sleeping Room". STYD. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
- ^ Stephens, Daniel. "Snooze-Fest Horror "The Sleeping Room" Sadly Lives Up To Its Name". Top 10 Films. Retrieved 17 May 2015.