Stephen Kingis without a doubt one of the greatest creators in horror history. His novels are some of the most successful in the horror genre and have gone on to spawnfilm adaptations that stand the test of time. Contributions such asCarrie,The Shining,Cujo, andITare among some of his most memorable, and are pure nightmare fuel.But he also has some lesser-known works, some that slipped under the radar, and some thattime has purposefully forgotten. 1992’sSleepwalkersis among these lesser-known King works, though whether it’s underrated or purposely ignored depends on who you ask.Sleepwalkerswas the first King film not to be based onone of his novels— he wrote it solely as a screenplay. The result is a hilariously cheesy flick, that’s more fun than serious scares. But one of its highlights is thatit holds one of the most ridiculous kills in any horror movie. Believe me: you truly have to see it to believe it.
Sleepwalkers
A mother-and-son team of strange supernatural creatures move to a small town to seek out a young virgin to feed on.
‘Sleepwalkers’ Features the Healthiest Kill in a Stephen King Film
Charles Brady (Brian Krause) and his mother Mary (Alice Krige) are the titular Sleepwalkers. To put it simply, Sleepwalkers are sort of like vampires — they feed off of the life force of virgins, and must do so to survive. Their Sleepwalker form is somewhat feline-like. They still stand at their normal height and walk on their legs, but have the look of a badly designed werewolf — though, for the time period, the design isn’t too bad. The catch though is that their one weakness is cats. They’re so afraid of the furry things in fact that they set up traps in their yard to keep neighborhood cats and strays at bay.
Charles sets his sights on Tanya Robertson (Mädchen Amick), a fellow classmate of his, who is pure as snow. He romances her and attempts to feed off of her, but she fights back and injures him just enough to get away. She runs into a police officer and begs him for help, only for Charles to kill him (more on that scene later). But the police officer’s cat, who is arguably the hero of this movie, attacks Charles in retaliation, scratching him in the face and chest, which wounds him almost fatally. He drags himself home to his mother who is devastated by the state of her son.She knows the only way he’ll survive is if he feeds, and this is when we get to the good stuff.
Mary heads to the Robertson household, where Tanya is decompressing after her near-death experience, and her parents are talking with the police about what to do. A visitor at the door gets the attention of Tanya’s father, and on the other side is Mary, who cracks him in the face with a vase of roses. She makes her way inside, where she confronts Tanya’s mom, complaining about how Tanya tried to kill her son and that he’s now dying, so she needs Tanya to help him. Her mom obviously isn’t having this, and tells Mary that she hopes Charles dies. This angers Mama Brady, and she shoves Tanya’s mom through a window. Now having severely injured both of Tanya’s parents, the only person standing in Mary’s way is a police officer and Tanya herself. After the officer fires off an entire clip of bullets quite clumsily (seriously, he never even gets close to hitting his target), he runs into the kitchen to call for backup. This is when Tanya makes her way down, and though she puts up a fight and manages to scratch Mary,she’s ultimately no match for the vampiric shapeshifter, and is knocked unconscious.
Mary then sneaks up behind the officer as he calls for help, and it’s here that we are givenone of the greatest and most absurd killsI’ve ever seen.Picking up a corn cob from a dinner plate, Mary promptly jams the cob into the officer’s back, which somehow works, and somehow kills him. And to top it off, she delivers a cheeky one-liner to go with it. “No vegetables, no dessert. Those are the rules.” Cut to the officer’s body on the ground, with kernels of corn and an obscene amount of blood decorating his lifeless frame.
The ‘Sleepwalkers’ Corn Cob Kill Is Completely Ridiculous — And That’s Why It Works
The horror genre as a wholehas no shortage of bizarre moments, but this kill may just be at the top of the list. It’s just so completely insane that you have to wonderhow Stephen King even thought of it.Did he look at a corn cob one day and feel inspired?Was this a cut scene fromChildren of the Corn? I have so many questions!
But while the kill itself may be rather absurd, in comparison to the rest of the movie it doesn’t feel all that out of the blue. Part of the brilliance ofSleepwalkersis that it doesn’t take itself too seriously.It’s meant to be campy and ridiculous, and it shows. The basic premise alone should tip you off — after all, it’s about an incestuous pair of shape-shifting vampire-esque creatures who feed off of female virgins, soit was always meant to be a bit silly.
The entire movie is quite satirical, filled with cheesy one-liners and some odd story choices that make it a 90s gem. Some highlights include when Charles is approached by his teacher Mr. Fallows (Glenn Shadix), who calls him out for lying about who he is and where he’s from. Before killing him, Charles rips off his hand and says, “You’re right, Mr. Fallows, people really should learn to keep their hands to themselves. Here’s yours.” And then he passes him his own severed hand! It’s fantastic! And of course, a fan-favorite moment is when Charles kills the police officer who’s helping Tanya after she escapes Charles’ attack. Charles sneaks up behind the officer and stabs him in the ear with a pencil. The cop falls over, plunging the pencil deeper into his head (yuck!), andCharles cheerfully exclaims “Cop-Kabob!”
Sleepwalkersmay not bethe best Stephen King creation, but it’s certainly one of his most colorful, and one that never ceases to entertain. There are so many moments that stand out, but truly nothing will ever top using a corn cob as a weapon. It’s silly, outrageous, and yetso creative it’s hard to fault it.
Sleepwalkersis available to rent on Amazon
