Review of Sleepless Nights

I got this movie on VHS after reading the Tim Lucas review in Video Watchdog and I got to admit, I got nostalgic watching it. Not just for the old TV soap opera Dark Shadows, which is its main inspiration, but also for all those low budget horror films that no one seems to be making anymore. Here you have a film which doesn't look like it cost anything to make but somehow it's involving and fun. You would think by now there wouldn't be anything new to say about vampires, but somehow they managed to come up with some interesting twists. They borrow from every vampire movie or book there ever was, swiping from Richard Matheson's book, "I Am Legend," Hammer vampire films, "Dark Shadows," of course, Anne Rice books, even Forrest J. Ackerman's old "Vampirella" comics. But a unique spin is put on all of it and it's nice to see a movie like this that actually has some original ideas. Though the film isn't that long, it drags in spots, getting weighed down with alot of talk at times. But overall it's easy to watch and enjoyable with a very satisfying and touching end scene. The door is left open for sequels and I wouldn't mind seeing these characters again. So I guess I'm glad I took Tim Lucas' advice and bought this film. I would recommend it to other vampire film fans especially "Dark Shadows" fans. According to the Video Watchdog review, a DVD version is supposed to come out soon, which would be nice to see especially if it has some extras.