What parts stuck with you?
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alli417 — 18 years ago(March 24, 2008 06:36 PM)
THE END. I saw this while I was home sick from school, probably one of the first times by myself, when I was about 11. The last shot of the girl at the end of the bed was absolutely burned on my brain for years. SO scary. I'd love to see it now and see if it's still as terrifying.
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cullencs — 17 years ago(April 06, 2008 07:02 PM)
It's crazy how I'm a 30 year old male and I'm still frightened to watch this movie. As I mentioned before, I bought the movie on Ebay 5 years ago on VHScouldn't find the dvd. When I recieved it, I watched it immediately. It brought back so many memories. I don't know what it is about the movie that makes it so scary. Probably because most of us who talk about it on here were probably little kids when we saw it. It is a little cheesy seeing it now, but still spooks me. Movies like Friday The 13th, Nightmare On Elm Streetetc. don't scare me anymore, but "Don't Go To Sleep" does. Adults who've never seen this movie before, might not be spooked by it. I guess when your a kid, you tend to never outgrow some of those childhood fears. I'd like to thank "Don't Go To Sleep" for giving me a lifetime of nightmares. I might get the courage one of these days to put that tape in the VCR again, but I think I'm gonna leave the lights on. For now, I'm sticking to comedies. Have to take babysteps.
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sarlex85 — 17 years ago(October 03, 2008 03:37 AM)
I'm 31 and the only part that really stuck with me was at the end where the one sister ties her other sister's shoelaces together and the car crashes and she dies cuz she can't escape. Funny thing is that I recalled that as being at the beginning of the movienot the end.
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joethewonderboy — 17 years ago(December 25, 2008 10:33 PM)
Just watched this online (had never seen it before) and really thought that little girl (go Duffy!) was so good! I was especially creeped out by her scene in the straight jacket at the end (like a recent poster mentioned). Her performance was so raw and scary for such a young kid. I really thought that helped put the movie above a lot of other fare. It's also remarkably close to THE BAD SEED (which is how I heard about thison the message boards there someone thought Don't Go To Sleep was The Bad Seed and I can see why!) what with the braids and the creepy killing girl (not to mention the news footage of a picnic where a boy has gone missingClaude Dagle, anyone?) and the whole explanation at the end of the mad grandfather and the madness skipping a generationI wonder if this was somewhat the intent?
Glad to be "in the know" about this movie now and I'm gonna pass the download link to all my horror buff friends (in case any are in the dark like I was prior to an hour and a half ago!)
Joe2 -
Boutros_Boutros_Sirhan_Sirhan — 16 years ago(May 09, 2009 10:43 PM)
The ending was masterfully done, as was the initial part where Mary was lying in bed and hearing the voice of "Jennifer" an seeing the dolls move and such. The little girl that played Mary also had some great scenes where she just seemed like pure evil.
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jpjasonphelps — 16 years ago(September 15, 2009 11:37 AM)
I saw when I was pretty young, not knowing it was a made-for-TV film and
it took me forever to track down a copy on VHS but it's worth having if
you're into forgotten horror films like this.
There are alot of morbid touches in this film.
Just the ghost of the little girl that died is creepy in itself but there's
alot more.
The shot of the little girl driving the pizza cutter into the stair railing
and the little brother falling off the roof just as the mother drops
a watermelon (which splatters) is really cool.
This movie proves that you really don't need a lot of gore and blood and
naked chicks running around to scare anyone. -
kunfyooshun — 16 years ago(November 13, 2009 08:31 PM)
Wow.
The fact that we were all the same age and remember all of the same parts is hilarious. (I was 7)
I remember the pizza cutter going up the wall of the stairs and cutting a cord, the family visiting the grandma who kept going on about the beauty of the blonde daughter, the sister's laces keeping her from getting out of the car and, Duffy from 'Annie'looking sweaty while staring off into space chanting: "I LOVED her"
Freaked me OUT when I was a kid! -
Bugfinder — 16 years ago(January 15, 2010 08:57 AM)
The first time I watched this TV movie was probably around 1985-1986 when I was about 15 years old. In Brazil (at the time) movies were only aired 3 to 4 years after they were made and always dubbed. I loved this movie so much because of all the scary stuff but mainly and above all, because I empathyzed poor Mary. The cutest girl Robin Ignico was about 11-12 years old when the movie was made and upon realizing she should be the same age as me, I tried to picture her at my own age. Fact is, I was in love with Robin Ignico for many, many years. Never forgot her name, the other main actors' names or the name of this movie. Whenever it was aired, there I was to watch it. When Globo TV stopped showing this movie for over 3 years (I guess it was 1996 or so) I phoned the broadcasting company and actually talked to the programmer guy who promised to put it back on the grid once more. And he did! He even told me day and time it would be aired. That day I recorded it on VHS tape, dubbed in Brazilian Portuguese version.
I was so sad to understand she was a neglected child. Parents always preferred the other 2 children while Mary starved for attentionm but didn't cry for it, never put up a tantrum. I always have been heartbroken because of that. Things that happened in the movie weren't revenge for anything, Mary didn't plan any of the 'accidents'. She was so psychologically shaken because of her parents and grandma giving so little attention, so little praise to her while Jennifer (mostly) and Kevin received all their love! And in front of her eyes, shame on them who never noticed her sadness. After the practical joke which led to her sister's death she went into shock, feeling terribly guilty. She never told anyone about what really happened until the movie's end.
To make things worse, that house was haunted (its address number made us sure of that). So a psychologically troubled girl in a haunted house was a tragic recipe. Great scenes were already mentioned, they're pretty obvious: first encounter between Mary and deceased Jennifer (who in my understanding was a demon posing as her sister), the pizza cutter going up the stairs, Mary describing the events that led to the accident, Mary in the mental hospital chanting "I loved her", Jennifer's appearance in front of her mother
But some other moments impressed me too, due to great directing. One of them in particular is the sequence where Mary is on bed, right before the fire, while toys and dolls start moving. That specific doll twisting her body to the left while looking fixed at me Then a quick cut to Mary's face and back to a close-up of the doll, still moving its body, now with one eye closed, as if winking The music has superbly timing too, adding to build the climax: that made it for me. I have my eyes in tears just by remembering how a 12 years old kid must have felt.
Watching it now, I feel like If I had the chance, I'd jump into the TV and take away Mary from them. I would give her the attention and love a child deserves. But, to be on the safe side, no pizza cutters in the house! -
mcfly-31 — 15 years ago(July 26, 2010 02:34 AM)
Pretty much the same experience as everyone else. Saw it on its initial network run (probably ABC since every Spelling show was on ABC, heh), and remembered bits of it. Mom really didn't want me to watch it, but did anyway. Saw it about six or so years later on a Saturday afternoon-type movie deal, and most everything had stayed with me. Now last night, I watched it for the first time in over 20 years, and it was all still pretty clear. Amazing how most of us only saw it maybe once or twice, but it had that imagery that burned onto our brains. I did not remember the gramma, or Ed the iguana, or the straight jacket.
But the shoelaces, pizza slicer, Poltergeist kid knocked off the roof, and even right down to the freeze frame of Aaron Spelling's name I did, ha! -
Mbunches21 — 15 years ago(February 21, 2011 04:53 PM)
I just watched the whole movie on youtube for the first time since I was a kidWOW that brought back a ton of memories. But like someone else mentioned, I remember the car accident scene being at the beginning of the movie, not at the end for some reason. What's even crazier is that I was reading all the comments people posted and it seems we all saw it when we were between the ages of 6 and 8! It must have aired on a day there was no school right after Alvin and the Chipmunks or something! Lol - I wonder if the producers knew they were scarring an entire generation by releasing this on TV!