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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!

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!

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!

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!

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.

The first time Mary sees her dead sister under her bed
When there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth

it's on youtube! check out the last few mins of "don't go to sleep, 1982 9/9"
"Hi mommy!"

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.

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

The girl at the end of the bed shiver

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.

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.

LOL - I find it funny that for the most part, everyone who remembers this movie was under the age of 8 when it came out! And it seems like we were all scarred for life by it! weird.

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.

The part where they tie her sister's show laces together. Where her sister is possessed and takes a pizza cutter and rolls it along the wall and cuts the cord to the radio he has sitting on the bathtub while taking a bath. The very end where the spirit and her sister are fighting through her sister and she ends up in a mental hospital saying "I loved her. I loved her. I loved her"

I first saw this movie when I was about 6 or 7 years old. Up until recently, I thought I was the only person on the planet who ever saw it - it's amazing that so many of us had the same experience of seeing it at such an early age and not being able to remember the title and details. I remember the shoelace scene, the pizza cutter and of course the end when the mom sees her daughter at the end of the bed. Even to this day I sometimes get really creeped out when I'm laying in bed and looking straight ahead - that scene will stay with me forever.
The funny part is how I finally tracked this movie down - the girl who plays the surviving sister also played Duffy (one of the orphans) in Annie! I loved Annie and always knew there was something familiar about Duffy and then I finally made the connection. And in the end, imdb.com came to the rescue and allowed me to look this girl up and find the title of the creepiest movie from my childhood. ::sigh::
Oh! Another scene I will never forget is the part where the dad is in the tub and the radio or something falls into the water. I remember being a kid and always being terrified that my mom was going to drop the hair dryer into the tub or something.
Reading all these posts makes me want to see this movie so bad although I know it probably will seem a lot cheesier nowstill I'd love to get my hands on it and finally have my boyfriend see the movie I have been talking about for years!

I think it's the past that haunts your present which is why you still feel the unease. Anyway, the ending sticks with everybody, no doubt. It's the strongest part of the film and kind of does it in with the ultimate terror.

I actually have this movie on VHS. I bought it off of ebay about 4 years ago. I completely agree with you on how this movie stuck in my head over the years. I was probably 6 years old when I saw it on network televison. After seeing it, I had a fear of falling off of a rooftop like the little boy in the movie. I also was afraid of someone pushing a radio into the bathtub and getting electocuted like the Dad. There are many other images that always stuck in my head toolike the ghost of the deceased sister talking to the other sister, the lizard, the pizza cutter, the deceased sister trapped inside the burning car, and the most haunting part is the last few minutes of the movievery disturbing. For being a made for tv movie, this movie always scared me the most. I don't know why. I'm 30 years old now, and the movie still gives me chills. I can't explain it. Another movie that came out around that time and scared me was called ALLIGATOR. Remember that?

I saw this movie when I was five. The parts that stick with me are the car scene where the girl tries to escape the burning car. The part where her brother ties the shoelaces and the ending scene where shes at the end of the bed. The movie stuck with me ever since.

The very end has stayed with me for years.

I've been looking for this movie for years and like most people, I didn't remember the title.
I remember seeing this movie when I was probably 5 or 6 (very young, I know) and got scared so bad I couldn't watch the whole movie. Since then, I've wanted to see it again just to see if it would still haunt me like it has all these years.
A lot of people mention the pizza cutter scene but I confess, I didn't get that far.
I remember the girls bed being on fire and there was some suspicion about whether or not the brother did it because I think he had been playing with matches (or a lighter) earlier in the movie. And I remember the girl being moved (I assume) to her brothers room to sleep and she keeps hearing.. "Mary. Mary Mary" She like rolled under the bed or something and was saying (I think) "Kill me, just go ahead and kill me now" (or something like that) and then sees her sister who's like, "Hello Mary."
shivers
That part still scares me when I think about it.
lol I still feel so silly about this movie because it is literally the only movie I can think of that has scared the crap out of me and I LOVE horror movies.
I think the reason it bothered me so much when I was little is because my name is Marie sounds a lot like Mary. haha
I haven't seen this movie since but I wish I could. Can't find a copy anywhere and it's never on TV. I almost don't want to watch it because I'm afraid it wouldn't be the same and I'll end up thinking this is it?!?!

I'd like to see this movie again, too. I wish they would play it on cable. The pizza cutter rolling along the railing was something that stayed with me as well. It looks like it's available on VHS, and I've tried to find it on Amazon before.

I saw it when I was twelve and remember thinking it was all kind of silly the address of the house was 13666 I believe but the ghost terrified me. The first time the girl rolls under the bed and sees her sister was very scary, and the final shot absolutely horrified me.
I wonder if you have to be a kid to be freaked out by this movie. That's why I'd like to see it again