Sleep: O Mal Nunca Dorme

Sleep has probably one of the best premises for a horror film that I've ever seen. The idea of the person sharing your bed doing strange and sometimes terrifying things in their sleep is almost a *primal* fear, something inherent to every and anyone who shares a bed with their partner: "What are they doing in their sleep? Am I safe with this person next to me?"

It's such a brilliant concept, that the movie almost writes itself. And that's the thing...this movie needs better writing. There's something missing from the narrative, undoubtedly there to keep the mystery and ambiguity the entire way through, but it feels like the script needed a bit more complexity. I wished the characters and their relationship was fleshed out, that we learned more about them and their dynamics, to help really generate discussion as to what's going on. I wish an unseen and unheard character didn't have such an impact on the narrative; someone who is only mentioned a couple of times and very briefly. The film also jumps forward in time at several points for no apparent reason...it raises more questions than answers and I get the sense that no one knew how to address some of these plot holes.

It's a shame, because there's so much about this movie that works. It's very scary at times, generating enormous tension that you can cut through with a knife. And there's a wonderful bait-n-switch where your perspective on what's going on is tested and it's a juicy prospect. The film also has a wicked sense of humour and that always helps with otherwise very dark subject matter.

The performances are also quite excellent; Jung Yu Min in particular carries a lot of this movie on her shoulders and she's absolutely EXCELLENT. I just felt like all the other characters weren't fleshed out enough for me to really connect with them. Korean horror is renowned for its character work, slow pace, and shocking twists. I wish this movie took its time more and did a bit more world building. At a scant 95 minutes, it certainly could've used another 15-20 minutes to do that, and it wouldn't have made the movie worse.

However, I can't pretend like this isn't a good time. The film is creepy, effective, and again, just has that killer premise that's inherently good. Is it perfect? No. Could it have been even better? I suspect so. But given this is Jason Yu's first film, it's not a bad debut at all.

A fine debut thriller from Jason Yu. It was shown in Cannes and was pretty well received by critics. Now, after finally seeing it, I'll be joining those who recommend it.

This is a playful exercise in subverting genre expectations. The premise uses horror tropes in interesting ways, without succumbing to overwrought melodrama or clichés. A lot can be said about its expert direction; Yu finely balances humor and horror, and the script mischievously makes you question whether what you're seeing is paranormal or psychological in nature. He is enormously helped by Lee Sun-kyun (a formidable actor at this point) and the always lovely Jang Yu-mi. Their couple has loads of chemistry that is utilized to great effect.

Also, the short-ish runtime of 94 minutes ensures no minute is wasted and no plot point unnecessarily protracted. A hearty recommendation if you like your thrillers twisted and adventurous.

This is the third Korean movie in a row i watch which i appreciated a lot. (COBWEB -2023- and TARGET -2023- the previous ones). And this is good news, i mean, i am a big fan of Korean cinema but i think it regressed a lot during the last years. If it's indeed on the rise, every moviegoer should be pleased.

SLEEP is somewhat mislabelled : This is not a comedy even though it seems at times that it doesn't take itself too seriously and there is -vaguely- a darkly comedic element. This is neither a typical horror movie. I would describe it as a psychological drama horror movie, intense and suspensful. It doesn't drag for a second, on the contrary, it grabs you by the throat from the start and it's a fun/intense ride all the way. A suspension of disbelief is fully required though, this is not the most convincing and realistic movie of the world, but it's a psychological drama horror movie, you shouldn't expect something like that either way.

Better acting performances than the average horror movie, and most important, you can't guess what is exactly happening. It could be this or that but you can't be sure, so i was very curious to see where it goes.

An entertaining and succesful movie of this genre.

This is a solid little Korean horror film, with a simple plot that's executed well. The acting from the two leads, Jung Yu-mi and Lee Sun-kyun, is top-notch. Jung particularly is great as the wife.

Where the film falters is in its open-endedness. There's a death early in the film that's seemingly significant for a few minutes, then the characters seemingly forget about it, then it's brought up again later in the film. And later in the film a character disappears then comes back without any real explanation. It left me wondering if perhaps the editor mistakenly edited out the scene showing what occurred between the character going missing and then popping up again. It just was bizarre. But some may consider this inexplicability to be a strength that adds to the spookiness. That leads me to the next point.

The great thing about this film is that, just like the characters, we're unsure of what's really going on here until the end. Is the husband mentally ill? Does he have a sleep disorder? Is he a ghost? Is he possessed? Is he acting? The film does a good job sprinkling in different possibilities throughout the runtime.

There is no jump scare, but how 'Sleep' manipulates my fear, uncertainty, and anxiety is something else. It's a kind of horror that I can watch without getting too scared, but I cannot go to sleep, thinking about the whole movie over and over in my head. The situation in the movie might seem extreme, but sleep disorder, noise between floors, and postpartum depression are very much realistic social problems and very much modern problems as well. They are almost tangible, and you hear about them everyday. Three things combined in the movie, the ending is not that extreme anymore, and it's scarier because it can happen to me, too.

How the director uses lighting and composition makes the movie more intense. Before the wife is affected by husband's abnormal behavior during REM sleep, lighting is shed in front of her face. However, once she starts to lose control of her reasons and mental health, the lighting moves to the back of her head, increasing the eerie atmosphere and highlighting the sudden change.