non ho sonno and or sleepless a it commonly know to english speaking audience and start in turin and 1983 where a young boy name giacomo ( daniele angius ) have just witness his mother ( francesca vettori ) be brutally murder by an unseen assailant and chief inspector ulisse moretti ( max von sydow ) promise giacomo that he will find his mother killer even if it take him the rest of his life . it now turin and today and a prostitute name angela ( barbara lerici ) refuse to comply with her client disgust demand and in her hurry to leave their apartment knock over a table out of which fall some large dangerous look knife and a blue folder which she accidentally put into her bag in her rush . on the train home angela look inside the folder and find evidence that her client be a murder and somehow connect to the wouldwarf murder back in 83. angela phone her friend amanda ( conchita puglisi ) to pick her up at the train station but angela be brutally murder before the train arrives and outside the station amanda be also murder . the current chief inspector and manni ( paolo maria scalondro ) be on the case and he talk with the now retire moretti about the dwarf murder but find out little except that the man think responsible vincenzo de fabritiis ( luca faglioli ) commit suicide . a dancer at the zoo club name mel ( elena marchesini ) be the next to be murder . giacomo ( stefano dionisi ) now live in rome but receive a phone call from an old friend name lorenzo ( roberto zibetti ) who tell him that the dwarf murder may have start again . with the possibility of his mother killer strike again giacomo travel back to turin where he team up with moretti and a friend name gloria ( chiara caselli ) to try and solve the dwarf murder once and for all . this italian production be co write and produce and direct by dario argento i must admit in my humble opinion this be his bad film to date that i have see . many hail it a a return to form and well i be not have any of that a this can not compare to argento best . the script by argento and franco ferrini while carlo lucarelli have a collaboration credit have all the classic argento ingredient like the black gloved killer and the ultra shiny selection of knife and blade and a ridiculous plot and a few glimpse of his unique style . unfortunately non ho sonno come in a lull in argento career come after his widely pan phantom of the opera ( 1998 ) remake . non ho sonno feel like a commercial attempt at make a film that utilise what argento be best know for but at the same time he be under pressure to make it a success and while this be undeniably a giallo i felt that it try to incorporate element from american teen horror that be prove very successful at the time like scream ( 1996 ) and i know what you do last summer ( 1997 ) and urban legend ( 1998 ) and final destination ( 2000 ) and their various sequel and imitator . the largely teenage cast that populate the film and would tenebre ( 1982 ) be as good if it feature a cast of teen . the hip location include a rave and local pub where one of the teen even drink non alcoholic drink . the good look teen hero and his girlfriend who become the damsel in distress and who both manage to solve the murder even though the combined effort of the italian police can not and check out the crowd please comedy scene with the dwarf in the police station . the eventual and obligatory twist end be flat and have little impact as far a i be concern . non ho sonno be far too slow at almost 2 hour and there be few murder and none really stay in the memory . there be brief glimpse of argento class and the nicely lit blue tone a mel be kill and or the sequence when argento camera pan across the floor for what seem like an eternity with lot of people walk past to come to rest on the killer and their victim foot by which a few second later her decapitate head land but these scene be few and far between a although technically non ho sonno be good it all pretty bland and forgettable for most of it duration . i even find the gore disappointing and a few cut off finger and a graphic bullet through someone head and someone be gorily kill with an english horn and a decapitation and a pen stuck in someone temple and someone have their face bash in and a few quick stabbings . it all sound good than it actually be and it very spread out and isn not particularly graphic . there be some brief full frontal nudity but nothing to get too excited about . the acting be ok but the dub doesn not help and max von sydow add a touch of elegance and class non ho sonno definitely doesn not deserve . overall a very disappointing effort from argento and there be very little i can recommend in this film . watch tenebre and the stendahl syndrome ( 1996 ) and opera ( 1987 ) and suspiria ( 1977 ) or deep red ( 1975 ) again instead and remember the good time which do not look like they will return anytime soon .