Sleep Tight

Director Jaume Balagueró's thriller Sleep Tight is largely confined to a single apartment building, where superintendent César (Luis Tosar) is only able to assuage his own misery by undermining the happiness of others. César's target of choice is Clara (Marta Etura), a chipper resident he torments by sending her anonymous notes, releasing roaches into her flat, and injecting her cosmetics with poison. César also drugs Clara so that he can share her bed at night. César is a creepy fellow with problems—his mother is in the hospital with a lingering illness, the management isn't satisfied with his work, and a kid in the building threatens to squeal on him. But César continues implacably with his plan, framing others for his misdeeds and going to grisly lengths to save his hide when Clara's understandably hostile boyfriend finds out what he's been up to. A slow-burning film that depends more on tension than violent outbursts, Sleep Tight features a nasty protagonist worthy of Hitchcock or Patricia Highsmith, played by Tosar with frightening intensity. Recommended. (F. Swietek)