‘Sleepwalker’ Review – Hayden Panettiere’s New Horror Movie Is a Snooze
Brandon Auman’s Sleepwalker, a feature-length version of the filmmaker’s own short, centers on a grieving mother (played by Hayden Panettiere) and her series of unyielding, nocturnal terrors. And as a recurring dream might have, there is an overwhelming sense of familiarity to Sleepwalker that lingers well after everything else has been forgotten. That nagging, been-there-done-that […]
Brandon Auman’s Sleepwalker, a feature-length version of the filmmaker’s own short, centers on a grieving mother (played by Hayden Panettiere) and her series of unyielding, nocturnal terrors. And as a recurring dream might have, there is an overwhelming sense of familiarity to Sleepwalker that lingers well after everything else has been forgotten. That nagging, been-there-done-that feeling ends up being way more haunting than the actual story here.
When we first meet Sarah, Panettiere’s character in Sleepwalker, she’s still coping with multiple traumas. On top of losing her young daughter, Aimee (Corinne Sweeney), her husband (Justin Chatwin) was controlling and abusive. That same man also fell into a coma before they could get divorced, so Sarah technically remains married to him and has to make medical decisions on his behalf. The full details of Aimee’s death are a bit vague as well, but Sarah’s grief, along with plenty of visceral nightmares, makes it clear that the child’s passing was violent.
