After its screening at the 2023 Cannes Festival on May 21, 2023, “Sleep” was nominated for the Critics’ Week Grand Prize and Golden Camera. This announcement attracted the attention of movie fans and praise from critics.
One night, while everyone was sleeping, the husband muttered, “Someone is inside.” From that night on, his sleeping habits quickly escalate to the extent that the pregnant wife trembles in fear every night. However, the husband fails to recall everything that has happened as soon as he wakes up from his sleep.
“I always go to the movies or watch the recently released movies at home,” Dyne Kim (10), a frequent movie watcher, said. “Just by watching the trailer, I already want to go watch the movie since I love horror movies and thrillers.”
“Sleep” is a black comedy horror mystery thriller directed by Jason Yu. The film stars Jung Yu Mi and Lee Sun Kyun who play the two protagonists of the film, Soojin and Hyeon Soo. The story focuses on the conflicts between this newlywed couple due to the husband’s mysterious behavior in his sleep.
The film is divided into three chapters. The first chapter begins with the couple leading a happy life. They firmly believe that together, there is nothing they can’t overcome. This hopeful mood swiftly shifts into a darker and discouraged mood as the conflict develops; the husband acquires peculiar sleeping habits. He unconsciously scratches his cheek until it bled, devours raw meat, and even tries jumping off the window.
In the second chapter, the wife is still filled with apprehension as they welcome their newborn baby in the family. She fears that one night, the husband might potentially harm the family.
Her anxiety reaches its climax in the third chapter. The wife realizes that her husband transforms into someone else in his sleep. Even at the start of the third chapter, the story’s future direction remains uncertain.
“Usually, in films about marriage, I find that the central conflict usually is derived from the husband or wife making some kind of irredeemable mistake, or one of them simply falling out of love.” Jason Yu said. “I wanted to show a couple who really love each other dearly, and are supportive of each other like best friends. So, instead of an internal failing, I throw a dangerous external obstacle their way — something beyond conscious control — and try to show that they can only overcome this problem together, as a married unit.”
“Sleep” takes an unprecedented approach to the horror genre. As Bong Joon Ho, renowned film director, praises, “‘Sleep’, the most unique horror movie I’ve seen in the last 10 years,” it is filled with unpredictable plot twists that no one expects. The two people slowly unraveling the secret keeps the audience immersed and on the edge of their seats, curious to see what is hiding behind everything. However, the ending does not clearly state anything since the interpretation is left to the audience to make.
