Justin Miller

(On Cable TV, November 2022) Let’s not mince words: the amateurish execution of Sleep. Walk. Kill. hovers at the edge of acceptability. Here we clearly have non-professional actors, material shot in crewmembers’ suburban homes, slapdash ultra-low-budget production values, a tiny crew, and an overall feel of “Look, Mom, I made a movie—remember those weeks we spent shouting in the basement?”  But writer-director Justin Miller has a few aces up his sleeve here, and the biggest of them is a strong understanding of his strengths and limits. Sleep. Walk. Kill. goes for a horror/comedy tone that allows funny lines and standard zombie thrills to take the spotlight away from the production values—the narrative is a twist on the usual zombie fluff (in this case, being that if you fall asleep, you turn into a flesh-eating zombie) but the execution had family members and acquaintances cracking wise as they try to deal with a world-altering situation on a quotidian, domestic basis. The script has a few ideas and some good one-liners to go with a COVID-sympathetic theme that real horror is being stuck in a house with other people. This Philadelphia-produced low-budget film was apparently made with local talent from the comedy scene and it shows, with all of them trying just a bit too hard to drop some punchlines in between horror sequences. It sort-of-works in an interesting way, as the film itself feels like a homegrown attempt to fight against zombified bigger-budgeted productions. It’s got some underdog energy that makes even the terrible acting work in its favour: a fusion of style and substance in a self-aware package that feels more alive than many slicker horror films. It won’t make Sleep. Walk. Kill. easier to watch for audiences just looking for a good time—but for seasoned horror viewers looking for something slightly more interesting than yet another monster-movie formula, this just may do the trick.