Don't Go to Sleep
Tags: revenge, murder

Plot synopsis:
A family is moving to grandmother's home for a while. The father, Phillip (Dennis Weaver) is not good fun. He likes kitchen electric appliances and is the one who is driving. The mother, Laura (Valerie Harper) is worried about living with her own mother, but she hopes that this will be the opportunity to forget Jennifer's death. There are also two children, the sensitive Mary (Robin Ignico), who as soon as she arrives to the house feels it calling her name, and stupid naughty boy Kevin (Oliver Robins), who enjoys scaring his sister, e.g. while they are travelling towards the house, he ties a huge spider to a stick with some sewing thread, scaring the hell out of Mary.Grandmother Bernice (Ruth Gordon) talks defiantly to Kevin when he tells her off because she was going to smoke inside the home. Bernice likes doing whatever she pleases and won't listen to her daughter. Laura says good night to Mary, and then she takes some lab tubes from Kevin, who angrily wants them back. After sending the children to sleep, Laura tells Bernice off in person, as soon as she catches her smoking - which is bad for her health.That night, Mary is woken up by the noises outside her bedroom window. There are stange noises and shadows, and her dolls begin to move or be moved a little bit. Mary screams, and when her parents rescue her, her bedroom is on fire. Mary cannot breath because of her panic. Nobody believes Mary when she says that she heard something under her bed. Bernice appears upstairs, smoking again.Kevin doesn't want his sister to sleep with him for the night, and in spite of his slamming of his bedroom door, that's is said and done. Kev is nice to Mary, letting her play with his toys to calm her down. The parents are worried, because they thought that Mary had got over her monster-under-the-bed phase some time ago. Laura is worried, but Phillip think that it's natural for children to have a strong imagination. Some time later, Mary was screaming in her sleep, and even hits Kevin while he's trying to wake her up. When Kevin wakes his parents up, Mary is deeply sleeping, quiet and relaxed. The parents tell Kevin to sleep as well, as nothing is the matter.Later in the night, Kevin plays a trick on Mary. He turns on a recording tape machine and puts in under their bulk beds. Mary cries out for help. Both parents tend to her, but Phil starts saying that he is fed-up, and he doesn't want Mary running into their bedroom every two minutes.The next day, Bernice and Laura have a conversation. Bernice looks at a photograph of Jennifer (Kristin Cumming) and repeats to herself that her death was nobody's fault. Bernice accuses Laura of behaving as if Jennifer was not there, and Laura says that Jennifer is now dead, so that the rest of the family have to go on living their lives.Next time that Mary screams for help - the room is calling at her again - Kevin refrains from waking up his parents. Bernice asks him what happens, and he says that Mary is acting weird again. Meanwhile, Mary is alone in her bedroom. She can't take the situation anymore so she goes under her bed saying "kill me, kill me". Turning around, she faces smiling Jennifer - exactly as in Bernice's photograph.When Laura does tend to Mary, she finds her staring at nothing on the wall under her bed. Laura picks her up. Laura tells Mary that Jennifer is in heaven, so she can't have seen her, but Mary insists.Next day, while her parents are painting the walls, Mary is making some flower garlands. Mary falls sleep. She wakes up to see Jennifer. Mary runs away but stumbles down, giving the opportunity to Jennifer of putting on her head the garland. Jennifer tells Mary that she always loved her little sister best, and that her parents didn't use to love her so much. Mary promises not to forget about her again.Philip insists on Mary not seeing a psychiatrist. Jennifer tells Mary to keep everything a secret, and that Kevin will tell on her at first opportunity. Jennifer will take care of Kevin. So, that night, while Mary is at the bathroom, a toy falls down and hurts Kevin on his head. Kevin won't tell what happened to his parents.Later, Bernice tells Philip to ckeck on the children, but he tells her to do it herself. However, Bernice can't walk very well. On TV, Sarah (Marilyn Coleman) is giving out the news of some boys being lost. Philip has drunk a martini too many, and Bernice says so, which causes him to behave like a snorting children. Philip blames Bernice for pushing the martinis. Bernice goes up the stairs and looks at Jennifer's photo, and mutters: "It was not my fault" with tears in her eyes.Jennifer and Mary want to be together forever. They will use Kevin to get to grandma, they decide merrily. That night, somebody puts Kev's lizard onto a bed. It comes alive and the police and ambulance have to be called. It's Bernice, who can't breath and suffers a heart attack. Kevin and Mary argue about the lizard and grandma's death. Laura grounds Kev, even when he says it was Mary who started the argument.Mary is worried about the psychiatrist she's going to see, but Jennifer will help her, and she will also take care of Kevin. The shrink, Dr Cole (Robert Webber) shows Mary some figures, but Mary gets impacient. Mary says that Kev can be a jerk when he wants. Mary says that she doesn't believe that Jennifer is alive: it was only a dream.Later, Kev and Mary are playing with a frisbee. Mary thrust it onto the roof. Kevin goes to pick it up and he succeeds. When he's coming back, the window opens, pushing Kevin out of the slated roof onto the floor. He is buried. Laura cries at the funeral; Mary and Philip don't. Mary keeps on talking with Cole. She is rude to him, and says that she has gone over her brother's death. Laura tells Philip not to drink too much. They argue about the grief they're going through: it's too much for them. They feed the lizard together.Meanwhile, Mary and Jennifer are reading together. Jennifer scares Mary into thinking that she's going to a nuthouse because Dr Cole doesn't believe her, and her parents are going to move to a smaller house. Laura asks Mary who she was talking to. She suspects it was to Jennifer. Laura cries in front of Jennifer.Dr Cole wants to talk with the three family members at the same time. But, as usual, Philip refuses the idea. He is not worried about Mary, as she is the one who has taken it the best. Laura looks at him as though he doesn't know what he's saying.Later, dad is having a bath while listening to the radio and drinking some martinis. He talks with Mary while she is drying her hair. Mary leaves and it somebody - probably Jennifer - pulls the cable. The radio falls onto the bath. Philip dies instantly.Mary goes to the kitchen happy as ever. Laura has just brought some pizza. She is going upstairs to tell Phil that the pizza is ready while Mary is left in the kitchen cutting the pizza with a pizza cutter. When Laura realises what has happened, she runs away, terrified by Mary, who follows her with the pizza cutter on her hand, calling her "Mommy?, Mommy?" On her way out, Mary falls down the stairs. She manages to get to her feet, get into her car and drive away.At the Community hospital, Mary is on a wheelchair talking to Dr Cole, who says that Dr Robin Smaul (Claudette Nevins), one of the best specialists in the country, is going to take care of Mary.Back home, a nurse is going to sleep in the nearest room to Laura. She takes a sleeping pill to be able to sleep.Meanwhile, Dr Smaul is talking to Mary, the child on a restraining tight jacket. They talks about the night of Jennifer's death. The three children to to Bernice's home. Jennifer picks on Mary and hugs Kevin. They had just left grandma's home. Mary is pissed of at Jennifer, so when Kevin and Jennifer are sleeping on the back seat, Mary ties Jennifer's shoelaces so that she can's get out of the car. Phil is driving too fast, and suddenly the car has no brakes. They crash. Phil rescues Laura, and the two other children leave the car by themselves. When Phil goes to rescue Jennifer, the car explodes onto a million pieces.Mary seems to pass out after confessing everything. Dr Smaul keeps talking to her, and the child says that she is Jennifer, that it was Mary who died in the car accident. Dr Smaul says that she was told that it was otherwise. Suddenly, Jennifer leaves. Mary says that she doesn't want Jennifer to leave as she loves her.Back at the home, the nurse talks to Laura for a second to check that she's all right. The nurse leaves. Before she can doze off onto sleep, Laura sees a figure: it's Jennifer's cruel face who says "hello, mommy".Laura screams.Fade to black.---Written by KrystelClaire

Review: Given the lack of real menace in the movie, the direction was surprisingly effective in making things creepy.I only wish that made-for-TV productions kept this sort of sensibility.Entirely worth tracking down for aficionados of early 80s horror..
I could only remember bits and pieces:  a family of five gets into a car accident, the oldest sister does not survive, and a creepy scene with a pizza cutter running along the banister.
That was about it but it was enough.Finally, I found the title of this movie (Oddly enough by searching for "death by pizza cutter" as a joke on google.com) and couldn't believe after all this time I had found it!Although this movie is obviously early 80's, the story, acting, and general creepiness has been able to withstand the test of time.
Sure, there are moments of cheesiness, but that's a given for most horror/thriller movies and really only adds to the fun in watching one.
I recently heard about this movie and found a 'collector's copy' (read: bootleg) on e-bay(it's a made-for-tv film that was never released on video).
Dennis Weaver and Valerie Harper are amazing as the parents of a little girl who keeps seeing the ghost of her dead sister, killed a year earlier in a mysterious accident (I guarantee you M.
A dead girl, Jennifer, comes back to haunt her younger sister, Mary, and the two wreak havoc (in the form of accidents) on the rest of their family.
The big shocker occurs as a flashback scene towards the end of the movie where we see who is really responsible for Jennifer's death.
It was unexpected at the time, I was looking for a family movie, and it turned out to be a spooky shocker.
It took place in December of 1982 where a girl named Mary survived an auto accident along with her family...her sister Jennifer did not make it.
I last saw this film in 1998 on the late night movie and appreciated it even better for the slick direction and execution of the actors.
Wrapped around this is a ghostly tale of madness and revenge.A top-notch cast, including Ruth Gordon, Dennis Weaver and Valerie Harper, seemingly inspired by the strong story give heartfelt and sometimes painfully real performances, but it is the acting of young Robin Ignico as Mary, who really carries the film with a bravura performance, especially in the closing act.
Perhaps the scariest ghost ever on television The story follows the horrifying breakdown of a family through the apparent ghostly manipulations of a recently deceased daughter, who's tragic death demands revenge.The story pulls no punches with suspense and shocks, with the ghostly Jennifer's startling first appearance and the final scene being highlights.
At the time, I was in my teens, able to remember much of the movie, for this is one of those that stays with you over the years, even if you cannot remember the title of it.A young girl dies in a car accident and seeks revenge on her family by using her sister as a medium for the ghostly activity.
One by one, the family members get knocked off through mysterious circumstances.Dennis Weaver (Duel) and Valerie Harper star as the parents who are having marital troubles, as well as troubled relationships with their surviving children, Mary (Robin Ignico) and Kevin (Oliver Robins).
One would never believe that a made-for-TV horror movie could be any good, but this one is a nice surprise.
I'm so happy I found the title and just like so many of you, I saw it as a kid, my eyes bugged out at the under the bed scene and when she wielded the pizza cutter AT HER MOTHER (OMG!) haha!
It cracks me up on how many of us were kids when we saw it and how most of us probably didn't sleep right for a few nights- too funny!I would LOVE to see a remake in today's special effects!!
I liked this movie cause it was scary at the time and car exploding with the girl in it made me sad.
this movie has stayed in my head all these years, i am 31 and remember little parts of the movie, like the shoelace scene and also how each person in the family was killed, i remember something about a lizard too and a bathtub scene, but the under the bed stuff was the scariest!!
Judging by the unspectacular synopsis and unremarkable VHS cover art, "Don't go to Sleep" looks like one of those random and unremarkable made-for-TV thriller/horror films of the early eighties, but it actually becomes a pleasantly surprising and rewarding experience when you finally decide to give it a viewing chance.
If you're a real thriller/horror buff, don't sleep before you track down a copy of this marvelous film!.
Phillip and Laura (Dennis Weaver and Valerie Harper) and the kids, Kevin and Mary (Oliver Robins and Robin Ignico) are moving in to their new house.
I first saw this movie when I was 7 or 8 years old and all I remembered was bits and pieces.
I too have never forgotten this movie even though it has been YEARS since I've seen it...and nothing scared me more than the final scene...one of the spookiest moments I've ever seen on film.I wasn't thrilled with the performances of the other actors, but I think the two little girls do a good job.
After feeling haunted by this movie since I was six years old, not knowing the title or really any details short of images implanted in my mind, I was able, through the IMDb, to put a title to it.
Dennis Weaver and Valerie Harper are well-cast as bickering marrieds with two kids who move into a new house apparently haunted by the ghost of Jennifer, their deceased eldest child--whom only the younger daughter can see or hear.
Remember sneaking out of bed as a kid to watch scary movies and this was the first (and only) one I remember.
I don't remember much about the film other than a girl played a prank on her sister (tied her shoes together)on a family car trip and then after a wreck the sister died because she couldn't get out of the car when it caught on fire.
I was Teenager who watch on television ABC Station aired on show called "Don't Go to Sleep" is very good scare because the dead sister ghost crazy around in the haunted house.
This is the best horror movie that I ever have seen in all of my life.
There was some pretty good stuff made for the box during the 1970's, and it would seem that tradition was carried on, at least until the early part of the eighties, as Don't Go to Sleep is one of the best made for television horror films that I've seen.
However, the remaining daughter soon begins hearing things at the new house, and it's not long before she's 'in league' with her dead sister and carrying out her revenge - by picking off members of her own family one by one!
It starts out kinda creepy but cutesy and ends up on the frightful side.My question is: If the older daughter can come back as a ghost for revenge then why not the other dead family members?
They had very good reasons to come back for revenge too on _______ (I can't give it away can I?!) I'll confess that parts of the beginning of the film had me scrolling through it (fast-forwarding at times) because it was the "family stuff" going on the screen that was a bit boring to watch for me.
After viewing this film for the first time in about 13 years I found myself not at all disappointed by it and was happy to find that even after all these years this movie still had the effects of creepyness to it to me as it did when i was a kid.*Warning spoilers ahead* After the death of thier oldest daughter Jennifer(the scene most remember, little bratty brother from the poltergeist movies tieing her shoes laces and then the car crashing, everyone getting out accept the oldest daughter whom met her fate in an exploding car)The family has moved to a new house hoping to start over thier lives, Gramma also moves in with them.
Somehow I missed this movie when it was seen on TV back in 1982 (I had a small toddler then, was working full time and didn't have a lot of time for TV watching then).
This little gem was right up there with the best of them.Dennis Weaver and Valerie Harper play parents who lost their eldest daughter in a car accident.
Mary, their surviving daughter begins to see her dead older sister, Jennifer, who encourages Mary to start killing off the surviving family.
I saw this creepy movie when it made its debut on television some 19 years ago.It was extremely chilling,and in fact frightened me quite a bit as a youngster.Even the picture in the TV Guide was pretty spooky.It's one of those late night treats that might only appear on TV once every 8 years or so.In fact,I'd say its one of the top 5 made-for-TV movies in the "creepy department."It was just exceptionally well done all the way around.The acting,the characters,the plot,and especially the ending were all outstanding.Dennis Weaver plays the father of a family that lost their oldest daughter in a car accident endured by the family,which consisted of a mother and two younger children,a boy and a girl.
The third and oldest was daughter Jennifer,(Kristen Cumming),who unlike the rest of the family,was unable to escape from the car due to a prank played upon her by her two younger siblings that consisted of having both her shoes tied together by the laces.
The film avoided any gore,and yet kept up its stunningly effective chilling pitch throughout.From start to finish,this movie is a must see for anyone who enjoys spooky movies.For added creepiness,watch this one  late at night with all the lights off,-you'll be in for a treat!!!.
Like all of you here,I've only seen this movie a couple of times,and not at all in the past 3-6 years,I think it was 1998,or 1999,when I last saw this.I had taped it,but lost the tape,and I haven't seen this movie since to tape it again.I thought that this was a pretty good chiller for it's time (1982),as this was just before movies like Friday the 13th,and Nightmare on Elm Street came out,and was around the time of the first Poltergeist movie (which the brother from that one,Oliver Robins,plays the brother of this one,as well).Some scenes you guys didn't comment on,that I'd like to comment on were the scene where Kevin (Oliver Robins),plays a prank on Mary,where he makes scary sounds into a recorder,and then plays it back later that night,to scare Mary.That was a funny scene.Also,at the end of the movie,when Mary's all locked away in an insane-asylum,she's talking with the doctor,while tied up in a strait-jacket,and it's revealed that Mary was jealous of Jennifer because Jennifer was,in Mary's eyes,much more beloved by the family,including their grandmother (Ruth Gordon),than Mary was,making Mary very jealous of Jennifer,which lead to Mary willingly participating in the prank with Kevin that lead to Jennifer's death.We see the grandmother,as she sees the family off that night,praising Jennifer for how smart,and beautiful she is,etc........,and that makes Mary very jealous.Some of the deaths are easily avoidable,like Dennis Weaver's when he's in the bathroom,with the radio in the tub,and Kevin's,when he goes up on the roof to get the Frisbee Mary throws up there.I mean, especially Dennis Weaver,how stupid,any 5 year old knows not to put anything electrical,like a radio,that close to a tub,where the thing could fall in,and electrocute you,and all Kevin had to do was go upstairs,and go out the window to grab the Frisbee,he wouldn't have been killed if he had done that,rather than climb up on the roof from the outside.The filmmakers did a good job keeping us in suspense as to whether Jennifer,the ghost,was doing all the killing,or if it was Mary doing them,keeping us guessing which of the 2 sisters were actually doing all the killing,though at the end,where Jennifer greets her mother (Valerie Harper),at the end of the bed,reveals that it might've been Jennifer,the ghost,that was the killer,after-all.I really liked this movie,and wish I could tape it again,but maybe I'll look for it on Ebay, or other similar web-sites,but I'd recommend anyone that if you catch this on TV one day,or get a-hold of a copy,to watch it,and/or buy it, you won't be disappointed.
but, I still enjoyed watching this movie.It isn't always possible to forget who someone is and be able delve into the character like she accomplished here.
The oldest daughter, Jennifer (Kristen Cumming), was killed in a car accident while the rest of the family survived.
And that alone is enough to recommend this movie.Young actors Robin Ignico, Kristen Cumming and Oliver Robins (of "Poltergiest" fame, who here plays brother Kevin) are all very natural in their roles - Cumming is both childlike and eerie, Ignico is amazing as Mary (I only remembered her as Duffy from "Annie"), and Robins is totally believable as the annoying younger brother.
Director Richard Lang and writer Ned Wynn need more recognition for their work on this film, as do the actors.I can see why the title is "Don't Go To Sleep" because I sure had a hard time nodding off after watching it!
All I could remember was the scene where Jennifer's shoe laces were tied together in the car and the car blowing up as well as the creepy ending.
It's a well made TV movie about an all-American family that has lost a daughter in a car accident.
It was a very creepy movie but must have been very good to stick in my head all this time.
I never saw the name of the film, I only knew that I was going to watch a horror movie.
It was actually made for TV and that shocked me because it was so good.*SPOILERS* All I remembered of the film was a family with three children, two young (a boy and girl) and one older (girl).
The girl comes back to haunt them through the younger daughter, and does a very convincing job (from what I can remember).This movie is highly recommended, and I give it a 10/10..
What Don't Go to Sleep is, is a quintessential made-for-TV horror movie from the eighties, that is surprisingly creepy and genuinely terrifying that possesses a thick atmosphere that you could almost drown in.
Don't Go to Sleep is an astonishingly creepy made-for-television film, and one of the best made for television horror films that I've ever seen.The plot centres on an all-American family who a year previously were in a car accident as the father, Phillip (played by Dennis Weaver), was driving under the influence.
Try watching that before you go to bed!Although restrained in terms of budget - which most TV movies are), the plot is the main theme which really makes this film very creepy and scary.
I love the brilliant climactic scene that sees Mary looking like hell in a straight-jacket in a padded room being interrogated by a doctor, where it finally reveals what really happened on the night of Jennifer's fiery death, and it's a doozie!
Tiny nitpick, as much as I like how there turned out to really be a Jennifer, just think how much more disturbing a film it would be if Mary had been schizophrenic and had a split-personality the whole time, and the approach to the horror would have been revealed as psychological rather than supernatural.
This film is much better than alot of so-called 'scary' movies out there.
I LOVE the 'Planet of the Apes' movies...but I don't think they're at all 'good.' I'll watch them time and again, and subject friends and family to them, but I'd never suggest they're decent films!
It is not even a good horror movie.
'Don't Go to Sleep' follows a family into a new home and life after the elder sister has died in (we find out later) a fiery car accident (a la 'Simpsons').
Now, the younger sister is haunted by the 'ghost' of her dead sibling, and this leads her to pick off every member of the family in a series of deftly orchestrated accidents until only her mother (Valerie Harper) remains.
My wife, like so many writers here, saw this movie when she was young and it stayed with her (mainly, I suspect, because of the bad little girls), so I bought a copy of it for her.
I remember watching this film, with my best friend at the time Dwight, and found it interesting for a 13 year old.
A prank goes bad, as always in these revenge horror film, but this time the, twisted, sister gets here misdirected revenge from beyond the grave.
(I'm glad I did) I don't usually find many movies that "scare" me, but there are exceptions "In Possession", "The Grudge" (Japanese version), "Ghostwatch" and finally "Don't go to sleep".The story centres on a family who a year before has a car accident as the father has had one too many drinks and their eldest daughter gets killed due to a prank done on her by her younger siblings.
(Played by Ruth Gordon)She then later comes back as a ghost and haunts the younger sister who after a while becomes friends when Jennifer the older sister reveals herself to her, but this friendship becomes sinister when the sisters (mostly Jennifer who is out for revenge) decides to kill off other members of their family.
Later on while her mother is sleeping, (played by Valerie Harper) Jennifer appears in front with a very evil grin on her face.
When her mother screams, the movie ends.Although this was a very low budget TV movie, the storyline is the main theme which makes this film creepy and very scary.