A totally random pick from the video store, SLEEPSTALKER has some interesting ideas but never really gets off the ground. The real question is: is this a TV movie? I mean, lots of the things portrayed in it are definitely not made-for-TV stuff, on the other hand, there's no real gore, no nudity, and no bad language. Read on if you haven't already lost interest.

What makes this movie interesting is its whacked-out plot. Basically, there's a killer on the loose (oooh, original, I know, but read on) named the Sandman. He is named such because he kills his victims and then drops sand on their eyelids. The Sandman is portrayed by a scary-looking guy with nasty scars around his lips...why? You'll find out. Anyways, the Sandman kills this one kid's parents, but is stopped by the police just before killing the kid.

Jump ahead about fifteen years. The Sandman is on death-row about to be executed. The kid who he almost killed is a grown-up journalist trying to make it big. The Sandman is killed, but somehow manages to take form in the shape of...(hint: a grainy natural substance)...you guessed it: SAND! Get the wit behind the name Sandman now? Anyways, the Sandman goes on another killing spree, but this time it is of friends and people close to the kid who escaped him fifteen years earlier.

Of course, there's a big surprise as to why he's going after this one kid. The Sandman himself got so messed up because as a young boy his father sewed his lips shut to keep him from screaming when beaten. The film, of course, neglects to explain how the young Sandman ate, but that's neither here nor there. There are some pretty decent special effects of sand flowing through ventilation tubes and through cracks in walls, and more.