Move Over, Garlic and Crucifixes

I've been watching so many good Stephen King productions lately I was a little surprised to come across something sub-par last night. 2023's Sleepwalkers was written for the screen by King and has Alice Krige, Madchen Amick, Ron Perlman, and Mark Hamill (though he's uncredited for some reason). But it's about vampires who are allergic to cats and it's about as silly as you could imagine that premise being.

Charles (Brian Krause) and his mother/lover, Mary (Alice Krige), are down on their luck vampiric demons who require the souls of virgins too sustain them. Lucky for them, Charles meets the beautiful young Tanya (Madchen Amick).

Tanya's the best part of the movie and I suspect King wrote her as his own dream girl. She works at a movie theatre and she's introduced dancing alone to her headphones while sweeping. The camera gazes long and appreciably at her in the sequence.

I suppose it's the kind of thing you might see in a commercial but, hey, it's Madchen Amick.

The Sleepwalkers, as the vampiric beings are called, have some interesting powers and there a few cool, vicious scenes, like the one where Charles decides to murder his creative writing teacher (Glenn Shadix). I get the sense that King isn't a big fan of creative writing teachers.

Unfortunately, when a cat attacking Charles consists of the actor holding a stuffed prop to his neck and writhing, it looks exactly like what it is. It's hard to make a movie about cats that gives them the majesty we cat lovers know they possess in life. Lots of people have tried, though.

Sleepwalkers is available on The Criterion Channel as part of a Cat Movies playlist on The Criterion Channel.

X Sonnet #1807

A normal box for ev'ry pace was checked.
Reflective marble blushed beneath the blood.
The dancing busts in ivy wreaths were decked.
A pterodactyl lifts the deadly bud.
Deducted metals scored for lead in rings.
Remember time when baking space for air.
Whenever pots're washed, enamel rings.
No messaged mind could find a worthy pair.
Aggressive fungal ghosts are sleeping late.
Omitting falls, the water changed to mist.
Forever, questions swirl about the gate.
Perverted sleepers marvel at a kiss.
Returning time has rendered red to grey.
The ancient oak became a paper clay.