A young couple’s sleep becomes disrupted by the husband’s increasingly bizarre and dangerous sleepwalking. Jason Yu’s feature film debut Sleep plays at this year’s Raindance Film Festival.
At the end of your day, it’s the most natural thing in the world to go to sleep. But what if the person sleeping next to you woke in the middle of the night and was totally different, acting in a way that put you and your family in danger?
Debut feature director Jason Yu ponders this thought in a tense and intriguing film simply entitled Sleep, a film which it is probably best to know little about before viewing.
Young couple Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi) and Hyun-su (Lee Sun-kyun in his last film before his death in December 2023) are expecting their first child when Soo-jin finds her husband sleepwalking and behaving in a very disturbing and potentially dangerous manner. Over the weeks, his behaviour becomes even more threatening to their safety, and medical treatment is sought, apparently to no avail. Once the child is born, Hyun-su’s condition sees little improvement, and Soo-jin, now totally sleep-deprived, desperately turns to the supernatural for assistance.
Sleep is divided into three distinct chapters, each having a different feel and almost a different perspective. Chapter 1 follows the young couple as they try to deal with the husband’s ‘stress-induced sleep-walking’, and his bizarre behaviour, and attempt to ensure that pregnant Soo-jin remains safe while they sleep. Tables turn a little in Chapter 2 once the baby has arrived, as Soo-jin is not only still fearful of Hyun-su, but also sleep-deprived due to the new arrival, and it becomes unclear which parts are real and which are her hallucinations. Chapter 3 contains the best use of a PowerPoint presentation I have seen in a film in a long time and a somewhat ambiguous ending which will allow the viewer to draw their own conclusions.
The majority of the film is set in the couple’s apartment, bringing a sense of tension and constraint to events, thereby heightening the fear factor psychologically and without the need for too many jump scares. As a result, the colour palate shift in the final act is striking and unsettling, but even then probably does not prepare the audience for what is about to happen.
As a feature directorial debut, Sleep is an outstanding starting point. Yu has clearly picked up some good tips from working as an assistant director with Bong Joon-ho, and was able to assemble a cast of established actors to take on his film. Both Jung Yu-mi and Lee Sun-kyun are central to everything that happens and work well together as a loving couple confronted with something very unnatural. My favourite performance in a minor role was definitely Kim Keum-soon, a grey-haired and elegantly chic no-nonsense shaman who demanded to be obeyed.
From the very ordinary premise of ‘sleep’, Jason Yu has created a brisk thriller/horror which intrigues and entertains and leaves an ending open to interpretation. Waiting for the next chapter from this young director!
Sleep plays at the 32nd Raindance Film Festival, and is nominated for ‘Discovery Award for Best Debut Feature’, ‘Best Debut Director’ and ‘Best Performance in a Debut’.
A young couple’s sleep becomes disrupted by the husband’s increasingly bizarre and dangerous sleepwalking. Jason Yu’s feature film debut Sleep plays at this year’s Raindance Film Festival.
At the end of your day, it’s the most natural thing in the world to go to sleep. But what if the person sleeping next to you woke in the middle of the night and was totally different, acting in a way that put you and your family in danger?
Debut feature director Jason Yu ponders this thought in a tense and intriguing film simply entitled Sleep, a film which it is probably best to know little about before viewing.
Young couple Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi) and Hyun-su (Lee Sun-kyun in his last film before his death in December 2023) are expecting their first child when Soo-jin finds her husband sleepwalking and behaving in a very disturbing and potentially dangerous manner. Over the weeks, his behaviour becomes even more threatening to their safety, and medical treatment is sought, apparently to no avail. Once the child is born, Hyun-su’s condition sees little improvement, and Soo-jin, now totally sleep-deprived, desperately turns to the supernatural for assistance.
Sleep is divided into three distinct chapters, each having a different feel and almost a different perspective. Chapter 1 follows the young couple as they try to deal with the husband’s ‘stress-induced sleep-walking’, and his bizarre behaviour, and attempt to ensure that pregnant Soo-jin remains safe while they sleep. Tables turn a little in Chapter 2 once the baby has arrived, as Soo-jin is not only still fearful of Hyun-su, but also sleep-deprived due to the new arrival, and it becomes unclear which parts are real and which are her hallucinations. Chapter 3 contains the best use of a PowerPoint presentation I have seen in a film in a long time and a somewhat ambiguous ending which will allow the viewer to draw their own conclusions.
The majority of the film is set in the couple’s apartment, bringing a sense of tension and constraint to events, thereby heightening the fear factor psychologically and without the need for too many jump scares. As a result, the colour palate shift in the final act is striking and unsettling, but even then probably does not prepare the audience for what is about to happen.
As a feature directorial debut, Sleep is an outstanding starting point. Yu has clearly picked up some good tips from working as an assistant director with Bong Joon-ho, and was able to assemble a cast of established actors to take on his film. Both Jung Yu-mi and Lee Sun-kyun are central to everything that happens and work well together as a loving couple confronted with something very unnatural. My favourite performance in a minor role was definitely Kim Keum-soon, a grey-haired and elegantly chic no-nonsense shaman who demanded to be obeyed.
From the very ordinary premise of ‘sleep’, Jason Yu has created a brisk thriller/horror which intrigues and entertains and leaves an ending open to interpretation. Waiting for the next chapter from this young director!
Sleep plays at the 32nd Raindance Film Festival, and is nominated for ‘Discovery Award for Best Debut Feature’, ‘Best Debut Director’ and ‘Best Performance in a Debut’.
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