How do I take a movie seriously where a woman screams after stumbling on a freshly dead body inside a basement, a man asks her to keep it quiet because there’s a killer on the loose, and the woman jokes about being so inconsiderate? The same woman lost her mom and stepfather only a little while ago, by the way, if you think about it. Quite clearly, He Sees You When You’re Sleeping is a truly terrible movie where logic doesn’t even take the backseat; it never got on the car at all. I had to check if this was made by Lifetime Network because it has their stamp all over it, if you know what I mean. Anyway, my job is to simplify the whole thing, especially the ending, and that’s exactly what you’re going to get here.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens in the Movie?
This is probably just a fun coincidence, but He Sees You When You’re Sleeping kicks off pretty much like the recent horror sensation Terrifier 3—a man and woman getting brutally murdered by a serial killer wearing a Santa costume. Unlike the Damian Leone movie, the kid, Chester, survives, and he’s understandably scarred for life. One other key detail is Chester’s uncle Nick telling him a horror story about evil Santa murdering people on Christmas Eve (yes, exactly what happens afterwards) before putting him to bed. We also see the couple, Nathan and Lila, getting concerned over a serial killer named Henry Bates (is that a Psycho reference by any chance?) fleeing a nearby mental asylum and then murdering someone. Little did they know that the same fate was lurking around the corner for them after all.
Seventeen years later, Chester is out of the psychiatric facility, and he’s returning to the same house where his parents were murdered by Bates. He hasn’t been able to move on from the tragedy, and his motive behind going there is facing it head-on, which is the last step of his recovery. He has another practical purpose though; his aunt Marion and her son Burke have moved into the house recently. Chester is not quite fond of them, but they are also his only remaining relatives, so he can’t ignore them either. Not to mention, he still owns the house. Chester’s girlfriend Afton is accompanying him, and she seems very supportive about everything. Very conveniently, Chester reaches the house on Christmas Eve. Sudden POV shots of the basement of the house are also thrown at us in a very random manner, which only means something bad is about to go down.
Is there a conspiracy brewing?
There has to be; otherwise, how would this narrative move forward? Marion is not at all good news, and neither is creepy son Burke and his ‘Aubrey Plaza from Wish.com’ girlfriend, Melody. They all plan to drive Chester crazy and send him back to the looney bin while taking his inheritance—the house. Afton is also in on the plan, who starts leaving notes for Chester, signing them ‘HB’. Quite naturally, when Chester tries to tell her, she gaslights him into believing that he’s hallucinating. To make matters further worse for him, Afton also replaces his medications with placebo, which leads to the poor guy having nightmares about Henry. Chester’s only ally in the whole situation is his neighbor and childhood friend Eden, who lives nearby. Eden is delighted to see him back. The two of them give a very strong childhood sweethearts being reunited vibe, and for some strange reason, we never see Chester saying anything about having a girlfriend to Eden. He also does not hesitate to flirt with her. Even Eden doesn’t seem to question it when she meets Afton later in the movie. However, everything is acceptable since logic is nonexistent in this story.
But is there something else going on?
Even though it initially seems like Marion is the only one plotting against Chester, we soon find out that’s not the case when Huck the caretaker (who was tasked with donning a Santa costume to scare Chester) ends up getting murdered by this man wearing a Santa costume. Chester finds the body and understandably faints. When he wakes up, nobody believes him—including local police deputy Warren Kessler, who has a thing for Eden (don’t ask me).
Meanwhile, Marion gets the necessary paperwork for property handover ready from this guy Kenny, whose only purpose in the movie was probably getting murdered at the hands of Evil Santa (his body is the one Eden finds in the basement, by the way). Similarly, Melody exists here only to forge Chester’s signature on the paper. Once she does that, Marion and Afton have a falling out over who gets what. Afton demands half, as she thinks she has done most of the work by bringing Chester here. Marion, however, thinks otherwise and is not at all convinced. Not that it matters, as very soon Melody slips the doctored house deed into Chester’s room, possibly after realizing she is not going to get any concessions from Marion. Once Chester sees the paper, he’s furious and decides to go to the police. If this movie was written with a bit of logic, Marion and co. would have tried to make sure Chester stays inside and the fake deed stayed intact. Instead, they just keep fighting amongst themselves. Chester leaves for the time being, and so does Eden. Upon reaching home, Eden discovers the bloodied bodies of her mom and stepdad (the guy was called Dick, and it was quite satisfying to see Evil Santa taking care of him). The movie also seems to forget that Chester was supposed to go to the police, because when he returns, there’s no policeman with him. In the meantime, Evil Santa has finished Afton and cut her heart out. Chester receives the heart as a Christmas present, and Burke is so stupid that he believes that Chester is the one responsible. A horrified Eden returns and lets Burke, Melody, and Chester know about her parents, following which they all decide to get out. Of course, that can’t happen, as Evil Santa has slashed the tires of both Burke and Chester’s cars.
Who Is The Real Killer?
What’s the point of making a movie like this if there’s no fun twist? Henry Bates being the killer would have been pretty basic anyway. It had to be someone you know, and I was certain that old uncle Nick was not just there to tell stories. It turns out he has been living in the basement all along. It was him who murdered Chester’s parents, and he’s also the man behind all the recent murders. But the mastermind is Marion, who made her brother kill Chester’s parents because Nathan was once engaged to her but later ended up with Lila. It was all for revenge, as Marion confesses to a tied-up Chester and Eden. I am not sure if Marion had her brother’s recent antics on the cards, but she probably should have warned her dear son about Uncle Nicky, especially given he’s a deranged killer. I guess it was only fitting for Nick to strangle Marion to death and then get decapitated by Chester. He made sure to kill everyone, including Warren, who was just unfortunate enough to come to the house with the news of Henry Bates being dead. Chester survives, and now I suppose he can truly move on. Eden is shot by Marion, but this movie is obliged to give Chester a happy ending, so she appears to be okay after all. He Sees You When You’re Sleeping ends with Chester finally asking Eden out officially, and thankfully no tease for a sequel.
