The Sandman

As most of you readers know by now, i love B movies. I would have to say that B movies is one of the most important issues, that we should bring into the Swedish Election 2018 in September. Sweden needs to make more B movies with monsters, aliens, redneck ninjas, lesbian kung fu truck drivers, to make it clear that Sweden needs a bigger B movie industry. SyFy Channel is for me personally, what Swedish TV4 Channel should be like. You see, SyFy Channel actually knows what the audience wants, while Swedish TV4 Channel does a 16th Season Of Bonde Söker Fru, and Let´s Dance Season 24 ( because all the Swedish famous people wants to get a second chance to be famous again, not talking about you Anna Book....don´t worry ). So now you probably understand, why especially Sweden needs a TV channel like SyFy Channel. We need quality TV Series, and quality B movies, I have seen plenty of TV series from SyFy Channel, and even some movies also. And i have to say, you people who run this channel, we love you all. Please continue to make your lovely productions, we need this more than ever. Speaking of SyFy movies, most of you have probably seen the Sharknado films, or perhaps the wonderful SyFy movie Alien Apocalypse with legendary actor Bruce Campbell ? I would also like to recommend a film called Big Ass Spider!. This is a fun mix of horror comedy, and the special effects are actually not all terrible. Of course there are SyFy films that don´t really add anything to my personal taste, but i have to say, most films are actually fun to watch. When it comes to pure horror films made by SyFy, i have only seen a few. Since they produce mostly monster films, or disaster films with volcanoes or tsunamis, i like to check out some films that go in a different direction. And this is where i choose to watch The Sandman, a SyFy horror film that was first released during Halloween week in 2017. Since i have watched several other horror films during Christmas, i decided to save some titles for later, including The Sandman. And i discovered this film thanks to the awsome YouTube channel Geek Legion Of Doom, so please check their movie reviews out. Is this another high masterpiece from SyFy, or is this almost as bad as any of the Fifty Shades films ?

A young girl named Madison ( Shae Smolik ) have formidable powers, who can bring a monster from her nightmares, The Sandman to attack anyone who tries to hurt her. After her father dies from a heart attack, Claire ( Haylie Duff ) decides to take care of Madison, to make sure she have a home and a safe environment. But every time Madison have a nightmare, The Sandman is always close to her, as she brings him into our world. If anyone don´t show Madison respect, she brings back The Sandman to destroy anyone who dares to go against her.

The Sandman is a film that guarantee be appreciated if you watch a lot of straight to dvd releases, especially in the horror genre. This is a film that of course include cheesy lines, and acting that won´t win any Golden Globe Awards. But i have to say, the design of The Sandman actually works. There is something creepy about the look of The Sandman. One big difference with this film, if you think about the usual SyFy film, is that this film actually have characters that you can care about, especially the little girl Madison, played by child actor Shae Smolik. Her character made me think about the 1984 film Firestarter ( based on the novel by Stephen King ), with a very young Drew Barrymore as a child with telepathic powers. There are a few similarities between this film and Firestarter, but the biggest difference is that Madison can summon the demon known as The Sandman to attack anyone she feels is a threat to her. And i like this premise, this is a different approach than most horror films with children involved. The story is pretty simple, and nothing you really care about. For me personally, i care more about the story surrounding of Madison. We never really get much information on how she was chosen to let The Sandman find new victims, and this is one detail i think this film could have digged deeper into. I also like the character Claire, played by actor Haylie Duff ( who played Summer Wheatly in one of my favourite films, Napoleon Dynamite ). Director Peter Sullivan is perhaps known for directing ( a lot ) of Christmas TV movies. He should be in Guinness Book Of World Records of directing the most Christmas movies of all time, considering how many he have made. I have not seen any of these films, so for me to see him make a horror film like The Sandman is a nice surprise. I think he has done a pretty good job on this film, where i could only guess that he might be influenced by the 1984 film Firestarter. If this is true, then i would be pleased. Because it is not often you see a horror film these days with children having telepathic powers. I do think he could have improved some details, such as the origin story of where The Sandman comes from, and why Madison can bring him back to attack people. This is one of the SyFy Movies that actually have a different approach than their usual catalogue. If you enjoyed Firestarter with Drew Barrymore, give The Sandman a chance and you might be surprised. But i must warn you, if you say you love Fifty Shades Of Grey, there is a chance The Sandman might eat you alive....honestly.

Rating: DDD