In Their Sleep (2010)
Steve Barton
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Reviewed by Uncle Creepy
Starring Anne Parillaud, Arthur Dupont, Thierry Frémont, Jean-Hugues Anglade
Directed by Caroline du Potet and Éric du Potet
Imagine if you will being sound asleep in your bed. You feel safe because you’ve locked up the house and everything was just fine before you headed off to slumber. Maybe you brought a book with you or watched some TV before you drifted off. Either way everything’s cool.
Now imagine someone entering your home without you knowing. They’re standing there watching you. Waiting for your eyes to close. At no point in your life are you more vulnerable. Someone could just walk right up to you and slit your throat without you putting up the slightest bit of a struggle. All you can do is die. Fade away. Lights out. It’s pretty chilling, no? In the latest French import In Their Sleep, these are exactly the kinds of terrors that we face.
While driving home one night from her job at the hospital, Sarah (Parillaud) accidentally hits a young man (Dupont) with her car who seemingly came out of nowhere. Thankfully he’s not severely injured, and being that it’s late and they’re miles away from the nearest hospital, Sarah, a nurse, decides to take the rattled young man home to dress his wounds.
But where did he come from? What was he doing in the road in the middle of the night? He tells her that he was running from an intruder who entered his home. Said burglar saw his face and would now stop at nothing to silence him. Together our duo face one hell of a long night’s worth of terror. One that will lead both of them down some truly unexpected roads.
Coming from the producers of the incredibly graphic Frontier(s) and Inside, the bar is raised for the brother and sister directing team of Éric du Potet and Caroline du Potet to craft a highly suspenseful film that’s riddled with tension, and for the most part they completely succeed in this endeavor. Yet, as the movie plays out, the tension gives way to melancholia; and instead of going out with the roar of a lion, In Their Sleep ends on a very quiet note, void of any frights or scares. While this may turn off a lot of viewers, there’s no denying that the flick is one hell of a ride that will keep you on your toes and glued to the screen.
Looking a good slice of spooky as a break from all of the loud American made cinema fodder that’s floating around? Then seek this one out, sink back into your seat, enjoy the setpieces that are framed lovingly and lingeringly by the du Potets’ camera, and let the deadly games begin. Once again some really kickass horror has come our way from across the shores. Vive la France!
4 out of 5
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