SLEEP TIGHT (2011)
Jaume Balaguero...write that name down. Most horror aficionados are familiar with him because of the [Rec] franchise, but I never bothered with those flicks. The entire "found footage" subgenre makes my taint oscillate. That's not a good thing. The only other Balageuro vehicle that I've ravaged is 1999's The Nameless, which I found to be genuinely disturbing. Sleep Tight accesses the same part of your brain, the part that sends your skin into hair-raising horripilation (it's a word, asshole). Imagine discovering that a creeper has been underneath your bed clutching a tissue soused in chloroform. For five weeks. Now imagine that he has violated you without your knowledge. Meet Cesar, ladies and gentlemen!
This guy is a unique villain. He doesn't get off on killing you; he just wants to destroy your life. He wants you to be as anguished and disconsolate as he is. The action is confined to an apartment building, but Balaguero's unflappable camerawork gives the film frightening dimensions. The tension is ubiquitous, and the characters are grounded in reality. Cesar is never portrayed as a criminal mastermind. Rather, he is portrayed as a damaged soul who second-guesses himself and fucks up on occasion. It goes without saying that the cast is above reproach. Sleep Tight is a keeper on all fronts. I really, really need to watch The Nameless again.
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