What if you never had to sleep again? Would you be more productive than you could ever imagine, or would you lose your mind? Five graduate students set out to stay awake for 200 hours in Sleep No More, but they might be driven insane by psychological horrors both imagined and real in the process. With Sleep No More coming to DVD, VOD, and digital platforms on October 2nd from RLJE Films, we caught up with director Phillip Guzman (Dead Awake) to discuss telling a horror story set in the ’80s, working with a talented ensemble of actors (including Brea Grant, Keli Price, and Stephen Ellis), and his fascination with sleep-centric stories.
Congratulations on Sleep No More, Phillip! How did the opportunity to direct this film come about, and what attracted you to Jason Murphy’s screenplay?
Phillip Guzman: Thanks so much for watching! The screenplay was sent to me by my good friend Brea Grant, who knew I was looking for a contained horror movie to shoot. I read it, loved it, and a few months later we were in production. The funny and almost serendipitous part of me getting this screenplay is that Murphy and I live in the same city, we know the same people, yet had never met and because of a mutual friend in another city, we were able to connect. We currently have two features in preproduction that we wrote together.
Was it challenging or freeing (or both) to bring the 1980s to life in this film?
Phillip Guzman: It was definitely a challenge! And it gets hard to source vintage props, especially on a budget, but with the plot of Sleep No More, it really had to be in the ’80s.
Your previous movie, Dead Awake, focused on sleep paralysis, and this movie explores sleep deprivation. What is it about the effects of sleep (and the lack thereof) on the psyche that you find the most fascinating?
Phillip Guzman: Every part of sleep is fascinating. I like the vulnerability of it, the importance of it, the truth and lies that exist in dreams. I even just produced a movie called House of Glass that’s a noir thriller about a woman who’s convinced her husband is cheating on her because he talks in his sleep, and things take a very dark turn! So… yeah, I guess I dig that subject matter! And I will for sure be doing a third horror movie about sleep at some point in the near future.
What was your shooting schedule for Sleep No More, and where did filming take place?
Phillip Guzman: We had an 18-day shoot in Austin, Texas in the middle of the summer, and it was very hot.
You collaborated with a great cast for Sleep No More, including Brea Grant, Keli Price, and Stephen Ellis. What was it like working with them on this project? Did you allow them to improvise at all?
Phillip Guzman: Well, I’m very blessed to have an amazing casting director, Lisa Fields. She brought in so many talented actors and it really made my job enjoyable. There wasn’t a ton of improvising, mainly because Jason’s script was so tight, but the one character that’s quite a bit different than how he was written is the character of Dale, played by Stephen Ellis, Dale in the script was way more of a dick and wasn’t much fun. Stephen really brought the character to another level and he would occasionally do some improv, and it really gave me some great choices to play with in the edit.
On this film, you re-teamed with Final Destination creator Jeffrey Reddick, who also executive produced Dead Awake. What have you learned so far from Reddick as a filmmaker and storyteller?
Phillip Guzman: In short, tons! Jeffrey is a great storyteller and a great friend. I call him up all the time. Sometimes it’s to tell him about a story idea, or a movie I’m thinking about doing, or sometimes it’s just to talk about life. He’s one of the best people I know!
What was the most challenging or rewarding scene to shoot in Sleep No More?
Phillip Guzman: In the summer heat of Texas, every scene is a challenge!
Looking back at your time on set, is there a favorite or funny moment that stands out?
Phillip Guzman: The movie was shot on an assisted living campus for people with mental disorders. So we had tons and tons of rules to follow, like don’t leave your keys in the car, or a patient may get in it and drive away. I remember one night we were shooting and it was one of the more intense scenes in the movie and the characters are yelling and screaming, and then I call cut, the actors quiet down, and I hear the most blood-curdling scream I’ve ever heard coming from a building across the parking lot from one of the patient's rooms… that’s a moment that definitely stands out for me.
Do you have any favorite movies, TV series, books, or video games that influenced or inspired you while making Sleep No More?
Phillip Guzman: John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness.
What do you hope viewers take away from your latest film?
Phillip Guzman: I honestly just want everyone who watches it to be entertained. It’s a fun ride that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
With Sleep No More coming to VOD, Digital, and DVD on October 2nd from RLJE Films, do you have any other projects coming up that you can discuss? Also, where can our readers keep up with your work online?
Phillip Guzman: Murphy and I have a script called Red Death that we are close to getting all the financing on, and that’s going to be the next film. It’s a modern giallo-styled slasher movie that’s pretty violent.
My Instagram is my most used source of social media. I’m always posting photos and stories of what I’m up to. It’s @director_phillip_guzman
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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