[1] In Sleepwalkers, Tanya Robertson is first seen working the night shift at an empty local theater dancing but is startled by Charles Brady, who is a new student in her creative writing class.

When Charles then turns to resume feeding off of Tanya, the deputy’s cat, Clovis, attacks him and violently scratches him in the face and chest which mortally wounds him.

The now large number of cats that have been gathering around their house throughout the movie, led by Clovis, all jump on Mary and claw her in a violent attack until she bursts into flames.

"[2] In Stephen King on the Big Screen, Mark Browning criticized the character for being a "damsel in distress" stating that "Tanya in Sleepwalkers survives but spends that film within the confines of stereotype as a screaming, wide-eyed, passive victim.

"[3] While in Cinefantastique, Volume 23, Frederick S. Clarke gave a much more positive review saying, "In the mode of the nouveau horror heroine, Tanya proves a tenacious fighter as well as a terrific screamer.

"[4] In both Science Fiction Film Directors, 1895-1998[5] by Dennis Fischer and The Werewolf Filmography: 300+ Movies[6] by Bryan Senn, Tanya is described as a "virginal heroine" which is an archetypical aspect of the final girl trope.