Spanish director Jaume Balagueró takes a break from the [Rec] franchise to give us another original effort titled Sleep Tight, which revolves around a creeper doorman named Cesar who works at an apartment building and knows a little too much info on its tenants, specifically a young happy-go-lucky female named Clara. Apparently Cesar has an aversion towards happiness, so he makes it his duty to purposely F with people's lives, but with Clara he takes it a step further.

Sleep Tight is more of a mystery-thriller than a horror film, but the concept itself is definitely worthy of goosebumps--not knowing that someone has been in your apartment, going through your things and purposely sabotaging your life little by little. That's definitely horrifying in its own right. In Clara's case Cesar does everything he can to try and wipe the smile off the poor girl's face, including sneaking into her room and injecting chemicals in her makeup to give her a rash, but he doesn't just stop there, as he also drugs and sleeps with her in her own bed during the night (creeper!).

One of the film's greatest strengths is its suspsense and atmosphere, like one scene in particular that offers some serious tension and keeps you guessing as to what's going to happen next. It's unpredictability is a rare and welcomed aspect that you don't see in many films now-a-days and I admired its ballsy approach towards key aspects of the story. The Cesar character is definitely a sinister antagonist, specifically because of his seemingly trusting and nice demeanor, coupled with the fact that we know of his true nefarious inner persona.

In the end the most terrifying aspect of the movie is the viewer realization at how very real the situation presented in the film is and how the nice neighbor or friendly acquaintance in your life can actually be the reason why your house is full of bugs or why you received a mysterious allergic reaction to something. A frightening thought.

While giving us a creepy performance from the lead antagonist and some seriously tense scenes throughout, Sleep Tight really shines in the horrifying sense of how it forces us to question how safe we really are in our normal everyday lives. Definitely worth a check if you're looking for something a little smarter and different from the genre.