There are certain movies that you instantly put on your wish list as soon as you discover their existence. In my case, shallow as it may sound, this reflex largely depends on the cover art illustration. I have a weakness for horror movies with vintage posters, kind of like how they all looked in the raunchy seventies and lurid eighties. When coincidentally stumbling upon the IMDb page of "The Sleeper" a few months ago, with its poster image that bears a lot of resemblance with such films as "Don't Go in the House", "Black Christmas" and "The Dorm that Dripped Blood", and simultaneously reading that writer/director Justin Russell intends to bring a throwback to the typically sorority-slash movies of that same era, the film immediately climbed up in my must-see list. I still love 80's horror, many of my friends still love 80's horror and apparently a lot of people across the globe still love 80's horror, as this glorious decade continues to inspire young filmmakers in the genre. After seeing the film I can safely say that Justin Russell knows the classics, the tricks and the do's and don'ts of 80's horror and, despite of many people (semi-righteously) complaining that "The Sleeper" looks overly polished and nearly not raw and sleazy enough, I feel that he hit the exact right tone in terms of atmosphere, photography and editing. The plot is rudimentary and straightforward, like it ought to be. The year is 1981 and the cute and lewd sisters of the Alpha Gamma Theta sorority are being harassed and brutally slain by a crazed stalker. This pervert sits around his lair, drivels and drools over the girls' photographs and petrifies them with obscene phone calls. As soon as they're dumb enough to separate themselves from the group, whether to shower or go to the gym, the "sleeper" (nicknamed this way because he puts the girls to sleep and marks their pictures with "ZZZ") sees his chance to sadistically massacre them with a hammer or various other garden tools. That's the plot! Isn't it lovely? Naturally there are some massive flaws to detect in the script as well. The pacing is overall too slow and irregular and several of the intentional "spoof" moments miss their effect, like the ridiculous musical/line dance sequence. The defaults are, however, widely compensated through the extremely gross (and deliciously campy) make-up effects, the raunchy atmosphere of long lost misogynic slashers and that irresistible 80's vibe that all the cast members so vividly translate to the screen. The clothes, the hairstyles, the teenage slang … It all makes perfect sense and catapults you straight back to the eighties. Personally, I even liked the bad aspects of "The Sleeper" because the vast majority of 80's slashers were, in fact, bad but tremendously enjoyable efforts. If you're still not convinced, then please give the movie the benefit of the doubt if it were only for the soundtrack provided by Gremlin. If this band, obviously inspired by the Italian cult band Goblin, doesn't spark your sense for 80's nostalgia, nothing ever will...

This production has all the look, feel and quality of an 80's slasher film. It takes place during those obscure years tucked in between disco and Big Hair bands. America was still recovering from the shock of having elected an actor as President, an actor I would say was far better than any that appeared in this roughly edited film.

The movie uses the "killer's point of view" technique which means they jerk the camera around during some of the scenes, but they don't use the technique effectively. There was no character build-up and while we saw the killer, they didn't drop clues as to why he was knocking off the girls.? What was that line dance thing? And did we have to see the whole thing? Sex and shower scenes with no nudity and they dare to compare it to an 80's slasher film. It falls short of an 80's style slasher. Roger Corman laughs in your face.

F-bomb, sex, nudity (Riana Ballo)

The Sleeper is a retro-styled slasher that pays homage to all of those movies in which sorority sisters fall victim to a homicidal lunatic, the most obvious inspiration being Bob Clark's proto-slasher Black Christmas (1974). As such, this movie offers very little in the way of innovation or surprises: all of the expected clichés are there, from the creepy phone calls, to the leather-gloved killer drooling over photos of his victims, to the oversexed boyfriends, gratuitous nudity, graphic gore, and concerned detective out to save the pretty 'final girl'. There's even an incredibly cheesy final 'shock' that makes zero sense at all.

It's easy to see how some might perceive this film as a rip-off, but the fun to be had is in seeing just how close to the real deal director Justin Russell can make his movie, and to his credit, he does a pretty good job. From the opening credits, this film oozes the early '80s: the clothes, the hairstyles, the synth score, the retro props, the prowling POV camera-work—they're all spot on. Working with HD digital cameras instead of film obviously doesn't help the overall effect, and some of the kills could have been a bit juicier, but on the whole this is an admirable effort. Russell even chucks in a pointless but fun synchronised disco dance routine just for a laugh, precisely the sort of incongruous nonsense that can be found in many a genuine 80s horror.

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.