(Credit IMDb) An elderly and retired police detective and a young amateur sleuth team up to find a serial killer whom has resumed a killing spree in Turin, Italy after a 17-year hiatus.I wouldn't call this movie great by any means, but considering that Argento can't make a decent film to save his life this days, this was a perfectly acceptable film. I don't mean to sound disrespectful. I love Dario Argento. I truly do. He is capable of being one of the great horror minds, but he has succumbed to stuff that is below everybody's standards. Argento's stylish direction is fantastic, the lighting is great, and it has some really good stalk sequences as well, especially the train sequence in the beginning of the movie. Gore hounds will be fairly satisfied with this movie. We get a weird flute murder that rules. A nasty pen stabbing in the head, somebody's head gets pounded into a wall, and teeth are knocked out, and more. I was quite satisfied with Argento's brutality. The acting was decent, considering some people were dubbed. Max Von Sydow is pure class, and I thought he was great. His character is written with a lot of substance behind it, and I managed to get behind him. You'll feel for him. The rest of the cast are mostly dubbed, so I can't really comment on them much. I will say this movie has a good twist ending, which makes sense. Final Thoughts: It beats watching Giallo, Card Player, and other average films on Argento's resume these days. It's not perfect, but it does have enough flashes of brilliance to make it worth your while6.3/10

I happened to come across this movie when it first came out in my local video shop going back about 10 years ago now, before a time when I was into the internet so at the time I had no clue at where or when the next Dario Argento movie was coming out, that's the main reason why I bought this and I was surprisingly pleased with the result.The plot is quite interesting, an idea of the dwarf murders is certainly interesting and can only be pulled off in Italian horror, but one of my main complaints is that it doesn't quite follow the director's usual flair, but this is still the best movie he's done in a long time. Giallo fans will know that Sleepless follows a fairly well-worn pattern from a storyline perspective. There are a few twists and turns with plenty of murders strewn in among the chaos before the film ultimately climaxes with the revelation of the killer. Argento doesn't do much to separate this one from the giallo pack, but the nursery rhyme aspect is interesting and even a bit demented.The death scenes are fun and very elaborate and the performances are decent as well from the cast, Max Von Sydow is competent and an unexpected presence in this kind of movie and Stefano Dionisi also gives a convincing performance as the male lead.All in all Many say that this is a return to form, and in a way it is but not quite up there with (Deep Red, The Bird In A Cystal Plummage, Suspiria, Tenebrae and Phenomena), but much better than the more recent efforts like (Trauma and Stendal Syndrome).

***SPOILERS*** Famed Italian Gailo horror director Dario Argento pulls no punches in this graphically gory slasher film that has the audience guessing to who the killer is up until the very last few moments of the movie.It's when a number of women are brutally murdered in Turin Italy that it becomes evident to the city's chief of police Manni, Paolo Mari Scalondro, that the killings are the work of the "Killer Dwarf" Vincenzo De Fabritiis, Luca Fagioll, who disappeared from sight back in 1983 after murdering three women under the very same circumstances! Brought on the case is the now retired police inspector Ulisse Moretti, Max Von Sydow, who supposedly cracked the "Killer Dwarf" case back in 1983.At first feeling the this new wave of murders in Turin is that of a copy cat killer Moretti soon starts to have doubts that the late Vincenzo De Fabritiis, the "Killer Dwarf", who's decomposed body with a bullet in his skull as found floating in a nearby river back in 1983 actually committed those murders! The killer may have well gotten away with his crimes back in 1983 and is now back, in the year 2000, committing a slew of new ones! Teaming up with Chinese restaurant waiter Giacomo Gallo, Stefand Dionsi, who was at the scene of the "Killer Dwarf's" last victim his mom back in 1983 Moretti soon comes up with an answer to who the killer was back then and even more important who is is now!***SPOILERS*** It was Moretti's knowledge to who the killer is that eventually lead to his sudden death of a massive heart attack when the "Killer Dwarf" made and unannounced night visit to his house. It was also Giacomo bull dog-like determination in finding his mother's murderer and bringing him to Justice that lead to a number of his friends and their family members ending up becoming the "Killer Dwarf's" victims. After following a series of false leads and red herrings Giacomo finally uncovers who the killer is! The clue to the killers identity was hidden deep inside his sub consciousness in the strange hissing sounds he heard when he saw him mother being murdered by the killer 17 years earlier! Director Argento never lets up on both the gore and action in the film never giving the audience, and the actors and actresses in it, a chance to catch their breath. There's a number of shocking surprises in the movie but the biggest one by far is saved for last when we, after about a dozen people are slashed to death by him, finally get to see who the killer is. In what turned out to be the most shocking scene in the entire movie were given an incredible triple twist ending by Diretcor Argento that leaves the screen drenched with so much blood & action to the point where even the closing credits of the film are interfered with!

Well, as a HUGE Argento fan, I feel a little bad writing a review like this, but I have to say it: this movie wasn't that great. The gore was awesome. I loved the first ten minutes or so, it reminded me of the last ten of "Suspiria." It moves so fast and it's so insane, I felt like I was in for the ride of my life. But then, the train slowed down...way down.As we are introduced to many characters, we get to know a man who is hiding from his past, a past which includes the murder of his mother. He witnessed the event and is severely traumatized by it. There is a retired policeman who thought he solved a murder, but now the murderer is back. I was definitely impressed so far. Then, we get a sappy romance...a lot of boring dialog and misleading events. I had to have some coffee to stay awake through the last hour of the film.In the end, we could have never really guessed who the killer was. It makes pretty much no sense. Actually, it's ridiculous. We find that there are a few cheap shots thrown in on the viewers for good measure and none of it really adds up to anything but a film that is clearly intended to be an impossible-to-figure-out murder mystery. Atmospherically, an enjoyable movie but only for the avid Argento fan. I'd recommend several others before this one. Nowhere near as good as "The Stendhal Syndrome." 5 out of 10, kids.