In the desert no one can hear you dream: a review of "Operation Sandman"

Operation Sandman    TV movie    (2000)

     In the desert, no one can hear you dream.

Director: Nelson McCormick.

Starring: Rod Biermann (Kazinski), Robert William Howard (Sturner), Melik Malkasian, John Haymes Newton (Richards), Ron Perlman (Jessup), Richard Tyson (Riggins), Mary B. Ward (Farell), Persia White (Winslow), Michael Woolson (Chaney).

     A scientist creates a drug that allows people to go without sleep. It's being tested on military personnel at a remote desert training facility (of course). As you can imagine, people can't go without sleep, so as time goes on, their fears or guilt or whatever truly haunts them begin to bleed into their real life (of course), and this happens just as the program comes under the scrutiny of an outside analyst (of course). People with high caliber weapons hallucinating. Do the math/body count. 

     Basically the average TV movie quality/formula rainy day movie. 

     Ron Perlman plays the unflappable scientist with all the single minded focus of an MD who's shooting his own sh*t (MD standing for Mad Doctor of course, so much for a "control group").  Calm, cool and manipulative, the doctor's concerns in life and work stretch no farther than the end of his syringe, and Ron Perlman's right on point with his performance.

     Favorite line (spoken by the only member of the test group not to hallucinate): "I grew up in the Bronx. What's left to be afraid of?" 

     Worth a rent or buy used.

     First published in 2004 on The Perlman Pages.