The title says it all. It’s easy to sleepwalk your way through “Sleepwalker.”

The film follows Sarah, whose sleepwalking episodes begin to intensify, blurring the lines between reality and nightmares.

Not Your Average Nightmare

“Sleepwalker” doesn’t hold back in its early stages. Unleashing a barrage of quick twists, sharp sounds and creepy visuals, it attempts to immediately pull the audience in. Except … it doesn’t.

The opening sequence shows the perils of sleepwalking and all of the horrors within. “Sleepwalker” quickly falls into the trap of tell over show, however. Shaky dialogue takes over the movie, with information overload and constant explanations rather than an actual plot.

Some movies can overcome this with solid performances. This isn’t the case for “Sleepwalker.” Hayden Panettiere (Sarah) is the draw of the movie. Unfortunately, this isn’t her best work.

Panettiere delivers line after line of stale, lifeless dialogue. It’s not all her fault, as she is trapped within the confines of how her character is written.

Other notable performances surrounding Panettiere include Beverly D’Angelo (Gloria), Justin Chatwin (Michael), Laird LaCoste (Holden) and Corinne Sweeney (Aimee).

A Story that Can’t Stay Awake

“Sleepwalker” explores themes of toxic relationships, trauma and grief. Within this, there are genuine moments of impact. But not always. The movie struggles to fully dive into the topics in meaningful ways, mostly due to the underdeveloped script.

The film is never able to find its footing, switching between horror, drama, thriller and even comedy. This genre hopping isn’t always intentional either.

Within the psychological thriller format, “Sleepwalker” struggles to establish its purpose. Intriguing ideas are present, but ultimately end up forgotten about in a rinse-and-repeat format. There’s only so many times you can say “it was just a dream.”

Not in this movie, though. Because it does this over and over.

Moments in the Mist

“Sleepwalker” still has its moments. Director Brandon Auman is able to craft an unsettling atmosphere that sometimes blurs the lines between dreams and real life. On top of this, the score from Sebastian Evans adds to the film’s most tense moments.

It’s also not a movie that can be labeled as boring. There’s always something happening – it just often doesn’t come together.

In a film full of false truths, the ending of “Sleepwalker” raises more questions than answers. It’s an ambiguous conclusion that many will find unsatisfying, though it does raise the stakes an extra level. It’s part jarring, part unclear. This ultimately fits the movie’s style, pretty much ending in the same way that it began.

“Sleepwalker” blurs the line between fiction and fact – among other things. It’s an uneven psychological thriller that has the pieces, but can’t quite fit them together.

Rating: 2 out of 5