The 1990s were a premier decade for Stephen King movies. While the author and his works have inspired countless TV shows and movies across decades, including the major renaissance taking place throughout the 2020s, the ‘90s remain a top period for King in terms of critical cinematic hits and iconic TV titles. In terms of movies alone, the decade saw 12 feature films adapted from his novels, ranging from The Shawshank Redemption to Misery, movies that remain favorites to this day. Another King movie from the ‘90s remains among his more forgotten horror films, and fans are quickly running out of time to stream it on Tubi.
Stephen King’s Sleepwalkers, King’s first original screenplay, has landed an unfortunate spot on Tubi’s “leaving soon” list, which typically indicates an end-of-the-month departure. Unlike his previous film contributions, the 1992 Mick Garris-directed film was not based on any of King’s pre-existing work, with the Master of Horror writing specifically for film rather than adapting his own books. The movie stars Alice Krige and Brian Krause as a mother-son pair of vampiric, shapeshifting creatures who feed on the life force of virgins and are deathly afraid of house cats, their only known weakness. The movie features cameos from horror legends like Tobe Hooper, Clive Barker, and even King himself.
Stephen King’s Sleepwalkers Is Better Than Its Reputation Suggests
You won’t find Sleepwalkers on any lists ranking the best King adaptations. In fact, the movie typically sits close to the bottom of lists ranking King adaptations and has even made several “worst of” roundups. The film’s abysmally low 29% Tomatometer and 32% Popcornmeter ratings even make Sleepwalkers the author’s eighth-lowest-rated critic and fourth-lowest-rated audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes. While the film was panned for its ridiculous dialogue and incestuous cat-vampire plot and over-the-top, non-scary moments, Sleepwalkers actually has a high so-bad-it’s-good quality that definitely makes it worth watching.
If you decide to press play on Sleepwalkers before it leaves Tubi, you need to go into it willing to embrace its unapologetic campiness, bizarre creature lore, and schlocky, over-the-top 90s energy. The film’s unapologetic and deliberate absurdity, which requires viewers to suspend belief and accept hilariously outrageous moments like a death by a corn cob and an invisible car, is precisely what makes Sleepwalkers so great. It’s brilliantly stupid in the best ways possible. The acting is over-the-top, the tongue-in-cheek tone and a high level of gratuitous gore make the movie feel more like an R-rated cartoon than a traditional horror film, and there are more meta horror cameos than you can count. Sleepwalkers is an underrated, bizarre gem of the early ‘90s, and it’s an absolute blast of a movie if you give it a shot.
Where to Stream Sleepwalkers After It Leaves Tubi?
Sleepwalkers will be a lot more difficult to stream following its Tubi departure. The 1992 horror movie is not included in any major streaming service’s lineup, and it’s unclear if it will simply move to a different platform next month. It’s not all bad news, though. Sleepwalkers is available to rent or purchase online, guaranteeing at least one way to still watch it.
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