Train to Busan, the lament, A story of two sisters, I saw the devil — Korean horror films that have crossed over and appeared in the United States have been intenseoften long films that teeter on the edge of thriller. His nightmares persist.
So Sleepnow in American theaters, it was an immediate surprise, simply for being a Korean horror film with a fun pace. Think Bong Joon-ho's heightened naturalism. Parasite either The host…but rarer. The feature debut of Jason Yu (whose previous credits include working as Bong's assistant director on Okja) chronicles what happens to a newlywed couple when one of them's sleep disorder takes the form of a violent ghostly possession, and it actually may be. As Yu explores the consequences of the situation, Sleep moves from domestic drama to the bizarre, often in hilarious ways.
Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi) Train to Busan) is a business executive and the breadwinner of her growing family. Her husband Hyun-su (Lee Sun-kyun of Parasite) is a struggling actor, nervous about the shaky ground beneath his professional feet as he prepares to become a father. But Soo-jin believes in him and wants to support him, even amid the physical challenge of pregnancy. He always returns to the mantra that hangs on a wooden sign in his apartment: “Together we can overcome anything.”
Image: Magnet Release
With warm yellows and tender staging, Yu's style amplifies the loving protection that surrounds the couple, which is immediately shattered by the worst case of sleepwalking you can imagine. Soo-jin wakes up one morning to find Hyun-su with a nasty scratch on his face. The next night, she catches him wandering around the house, devouring raw meat and eggs. The doctors diagnose him with a severe parasomnia, but it can be cured with safety measures and medications.
But like a horror version of Mike Birbiglia. sleepwalk with meHyun-su can't contain himself and with each passing night he gets closer and closer to fatal self-harm. Soo-jin loses sleep agonizing over her husband, and then the baby is born, adding to the sleepless nights and potential targets of the “monster” who lives in her house. Sleep Imagine what it would be like if you went to bed knowing that every night Michael Myers could wake up next to you.
Yu finds the space to immerse himself in Soo-jin's psychological situation, that of a supportive wife by day and protective by night, who never sleeps and slowly unravels. Jung Yu-mi masters the red-tinged eye blink that made Essie Davis' performance in The Babadook It's so primal, and the friction that arises between the couple, even when half of them are asleep, becomes absolutely tragic. Then Yu deflects.
[Ed. note: some minor spoilers for Sleep follow, but if you want to just go watch this movie right now, we won’t blame you.]
The suffocating tension of the moment leads Soo-jin and her mother to wonder if there is something else going on with Hyun-su. They then consult an exorcist, Madame Haegoong, whose energy is pure Tangina Barrons of Elf. She claims that there is a spirit terrorizing her home through Hyun-su's body. And it won't stop. Whether there is a ghost or not, as long as her husband's sleepwalking persists, Soo-jin knows one thing is certain: everyone in the apartment is in danger.
There's more beneath the surface Sleepwith Yu taking advantage of every element of the genre he can to unnerve and tickle. There is laughter as Soo-jin descends deeper into the supernatural theory and Hyun-su wakes up bright-eyed. (I screamed when one of the best PowerPoint presentations of all time was given at the end of this movie.) But Yu doesn't abandon danger either; Hyun-su's night shadow needs to be stopped.
Sleep It feels like a great debut from a filmmaker who is ready to challenge conventions and entertain audiences. It belongs alongside those great Korean horror films, even if it stays on the sidelines.
Sleep It is now in theaters and can be rented on digital platforms such as Amazon and Apple.