It’s That Time Again…
I am, of course, talking about: Daylight Savings Time. You know that annual, antiquated, agrarian practice that is about to mess with your much-needed beauty sleep, starting this weekend. When I looked at my calendar this month, I did a double take, realizing that I had to ‘spring’ my clock forward by an hour this Sunday, March 8th, and would be losing an hour of sleep. I couldn’t believe the horror!
But seriously, losing an hour of sleep is terrifying. It is an insidious practice that messes with your mind and turns you into a lifeless zombie, until your body re-adjusts itself to the new time schedule (or if your like me, you never quite recover, and always feel like the daylight is slightly off…). So, what better way to prepare for daylight savings time than some sleep related horror films? And, no, I’m not talking about cute, family-friendly ‘horror’ flicks, like that delightful scene in Hocus Pocus (1993) where Max uses ‘daylight savings time’ to prank the Sanderson Sisters… Some of my picks are truly terrifying masterpieces of horror, with a few fun classics thrown in, and if these films don’t make you lose sleep, the time change this weekend certainly will. Enjoy!
Midsommar (dir. Ari Aster, 2019)
As the days get longer, and your perception of time shifts with the sun, you might begin to lose track of the time, or, if you’re closer to the artic circle, and the midnight sun blends your days into your nights even further, then this film might just be for you. Midsommar is one of the most twisted ‘daylight’ horror films out there. I was mesmerized by the beauty of the film, while being simultaneously completely grossed out by the twisted events that unfold. A must watch for horror fans.
The Entity (dir. Sidney J. Furie, 1982)
This is one of those hard-to-watch horror films that features some brutal rape sequences, as a woman is repeatedly harassed by an invisible ‘entity,’ or paranormal phenomenon. Part psychological thriller, with a touch of sleep paralysis, and plenty of nightmare inducing moments; this film will stick with you long after you have finished watching it…
Happy Death Day (dir. Christopher Landon, 2017)
Okay, so I had to include one horror-comedy on this list… While Happy Death Day is not directly about losing sleep, this film features a character who keeps reliving the day she is killed, over and over, Groundhog-Day-Style (1993), waking up each day, more and more pissed off, and determined to figure out who is trying to kill her. Her repetitious morning wake-up call is a thing of nightmares.
This pooch captures my feelings about daylight savings time exactly…
I Walked with a Zombie (dir. Jacques Tourneur, 1943)
I couldn’t have a list of sleep-related horror films and not give a nod towards the zombies of bygone years, namely the voodoo zombie (not to be confused with the flesh-eating ghouls that modern audiences can’t seem to get enough of). I Walked with a Zombie pairs a traveling nurse with a ‘paralyzed’ patient in the Caribbean. The film is campy, but will give you plenty of ‘zombie’ vibes to channel come Monday morning, post time change.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (dir. Wes Craven, 1984)
No discussion of sleep related horror films would be complete without mentioning the teen slasher classic, A Nightmare on Elm Street. This film plays with the twisted concept of your nightmares ‘coming-to-life’ and tormenting you during your waking hours. While I’m not about to have sleepless nights over this film, and the bumbling menace that is Freddy Krueger, I will still have to confront that fact that I’ll be losing sleep this weekend… Sigh.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (dir. Don Siegel, 1956)
This sleep-related, alien invasion story gave us the term “pod people” to denote those emotionless ‘duplicates’ or shells-of-a-person post ‘body-snatching…’ This film is certainly worth a re-watch, perhaps sooner rather than later, given the kind of person you (and I) will likely become with the impending time change…
What do you think of my horror selections? What horror films mess with your sleep or give you nightmares? What are your opinions about daylight savings time? Share your thoughts in the comments below and don’t forget to be on the lookout for our March Film Club Pick later this week!
Copyright © 2020 Sarah Crane
