‘Sleep’ TIFF 2023 Review: A Tightly Crafted Waking Nightmare
There is no place more vulnerable than the confines of our bedrooms. It’s the most intimate physical space in any of our lives, shared only with our partners, pets, and siblings. Horror films regularly take advantage of this vulnerability. The entire home invasion subgenre rests on the innate repulsion we feel when these sacred perimeters are breached. Classics like A Nightmare On Elm Street and Insidious capitalize off of our in-dream and fast-asleep susceptibility. But I’ve never seen the genre approach the topic of slumber quite like Sleep, the dazzling debut feature from South Korean filmmaker Jason Yu, who flips the script and instead turns the sleeper into the vehicle of fear. In this genuinely frightening crowd pleaser, it’s the awake who are in the most danger.
Sleep concerns two young and charming expectant parents happily thriving together in a small urban apartment. A very pregnant Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi) whole-heartedly supports her husband, Hyun-su (Lee Sun-kyun), as he pursues a moderately successful acting career. One night, she finds him sitting silently at the edge of their bed. He then ominously says, “Someone is inside,” before collapsing into a deep sleep.
While there is no evidence of anyone inside their home, Hyun-su’s sleep behavior starts to become stranger and more erratic with each passing night. Soon, the two of them become concerned for the safety of Soo-jin, Hyun-su himself, and even their unborn child. A visit to a doctor offers a diagnosis and possible road to recovery. But Soo-jin’s mother is not so sure medicine is the answer and is instead convinced that her son-in-law is battling a ghostly possession.
This is where the paranoia of each of the characters turns the audience against our own theories. It leaves us unsure of what is real and what isn’t. All we can be certain of is with night comes the scares, and soon, a disturbing crescendo appears to flip the story sideways. It’s a horror film that will leave you guessing. Like the mysterious and almost supernatural landscape of slumber, Yu’s brilliant debut is at times murky with mystery. There is no room for boredom, as each scene, each character, and each beat of this film are tightly crafted with precision and attention to detail. And while its neurotic uncertainty, along with a series of unreliable narrators at its helm, may not be everyone’s cup of sleepy time tea, it’s impossible to argue the quality of the filmmaking.
I believe that the reason this film succeeds, beyond the excellent direction and writing, is the exemplary cast and their unique chemistry. So much of the film relies on its two-hander, and we’ve been privy to so many archetypes of marriage in horror that it’s a miracle when we get to experience something fresh and new. And that’s just what we have here. Yu-mi and Sun-kyun manage to present a team so charming and likable that the horror occurring at night becomes so much more magnified. A motif that keeps them strong through thick and thin is a cliche sign in their home that basically reads anything is possible when faced together. This promise is tested over and over again, but love is strong and they’ll do whatever it can to prevail.
Another standout character who is necessary to call out is the eccentric shaman (Kim Keum-soon) who is brought in to suss out any supernatural issues. A campy, scary, and bizarre psychic enters the space with the gravitas of Elise Rainer in Insidious but with a bit of an edge. It’s too bad we only get to experience this mystery character for one scene, as she’s an instant cult classic in my books.
All in all, Sleep is a confident, contained, and character-driven debut from a filmmaker who shows a ton of promise. This is a quiet film that might end up flying beneath the radar, but on close inspection, it’s fun, frightening, and downright bizarre. It’s definitely worth a watch for horror fans.
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Sleep
Summary
Sleep is confident, contained, and character-driven while also being a frightening crowd pleaser.
