the plot: Charles Brady (Krause) and his mother, Mary (Krige) are the newest residents of a small Indiana town. Charles enrolls in the local high school and the two integrate themselves into the community, but Charles and Mary harbor a dark secret—they’re both actually a pair of shape-shifting werecats who need the life force of a young virgin to survive. Luckily for them, Charles soon becomes friendly with Tanya (Amick), a comely young girl in his creative writing class. Unaware of Charles’ plan to kidnap the girl and bring her to his mother, Mary becomes jealous of the attention her son gives Tanya. During a picnic in the local cemetery, Charles tries to put his plan into action, but Tanya escapes, aided by the intervention of an angry tabby cat—one of Charles’ primary weaknesses. Beaten and bloody, Charles returns home and Mary goes on a vengeful rampage, with Tanya as her final target.

why it’s good: Stephen King’s ability to turn just about any novel into a bestseller has never really translated well to film. For every “The Shining” (the Kubrick version, that is), there’s a “Children of the Corn” or “Dreamcatcher.” But, as in the case of “Sleepwalkers,” when the source material is an unpublished King story, the results are dicey at best and downright terrible at worst. “Sleepwalkers” falls somewhere in the middle—it’s a bad film, no doubt, but the over-the-top violence, gore and ridiculous plot help elevate “Sleepwalkers” to a delightfully craptacular watch. Viewers who like to actually think about the movie they’re watching might not have a great time. The back-story of the mother/son team of werecats is never really developed, and a lot of important plot points are never explained (why would werecats be afraid of normal cats, anyway?) But, the creepy incest dynamic between Krige and Krause is fun, in a weird sort of way, and Krige gnaws on as much scenery as possible. And oh, the violence! Charles’ attempt to seduce Tanya ends with a corkscrew in the eye and a near fatal cat scratch. Meanwhile, Mary’s bloody assault on the town’s law enforcement and Tanya’s parents is gory as all get-out. Sharp-eyed viewers should also be on the lookout for an utterly excessive cameo featuring Joe Dante, John Landis, Clive Barker and Stephen King, an embarrassment of talent gathered together in a film that, at times, is embarrassingly bad.

why you should own it:  Even hardcore King fans can avoid owning “Sleepwalkers.” Warner Home Video’s DVD is as bare bones as it gets, and Video Vault recommends viewers wait to stumble on “Sleepwalkers” on cable TV rather than actively seek it out on DVD. —Larry Clow