Off in the distance, sirens are going off as horror season arrives. Naturally, the films released before the end of October are in theme with spooks and/or slashes, but the concept behind Jason Yu’s Sleep is one that doesn’t have a perfect seasonal release. While it wears the ghoulish bearings of a scary film, the story’s body holds the beating heart of a loving marriage between Hyun-su (Lee Sun-kyun, in his final role) and Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi).
While you might yearn for what the couple has, it doesn’t quite fit with the Valentine’s Day releases. Their rather enviable domestic bliss stems from modest simplicity. They live in a cozy apartment adorned with hammy HomeGoods-type signs (one prominent one is a wooden plank inscribed, “Together we can overcome anything”). They work separately (Hyun-su an actor, Soo-jin an office worker bee) and come home together, expecting the birth of their daughter at any time (though it behooves me to mention the lovely Pepper the Pomeranian as the fluffy foil). However, all of their depicted love is thrown in between Soo-jin’s increased worrying over Hyun-su, who kickstarts the movie by jolting upright in the middle of the night and drowsily mumbles, “Someone’s inside.”
Ominous symptoms soon follow during his sleep activity. Hyun-su scratches himself until his cheek is bloody and raw. He eats uncooked eggs (shell on!), finishing them off by lapping water from the faucet with his eyes wide open like a demonic feline. And there’s the always-concerning event of self-defenestration. At this point, we might perhaps find ourselves in that familiar scary-film skepticism and lack of sympathy and want to scream “BOY BYE!” as Hyun-su’s sleep patterns dangerously veer towards committing a crime ending in -cide. But through Soo-jin’s eyes, their marriage is based on practicality. After seeing a specialist who has diagnosed Hyun-su with a REM sleep disorder, Soo-jin makes sure that Hyun-su takes his medication and follows good sleep hygiene to get back into the right nocturnal rhythm. Unfortunately, Hyun-su’s issues go far beyond the hands of white coats.
Underneath the covers, Sleep is the keystone example of marriage at work. We have to believe — and, thanks to the convincing chemistry between Lee’s sheepish obedience and Jung’s can-do attitude, we do believe — that they love each other so much that Hyun-su will try anything and Soo-jin will go the distance to protect her family. Not much brain power will be needed to believe that a good relationship is working together and not googling “signs of being a vampire” when the other person is out of the room. Fortunately, sleep disorders are real and probably affect you or someone you know. Maybe you know how the swoosh of the CPAP machine can feel itchy in your ear. Maybe you’ve had to muster enough energy for a curbside talk after a post-paralysis episode. Sleep settles as close to authenticity in love’s hardships as much as it can — and hopefully, it becomes unrelatable once we find ourselves with a loved one’s murderous tendencies that rely on spiritual prowess beyond your civilian beliefs.
Yu, who has previously worked with Bong Joon-ho, borrows some of the stylistic camera pulls for foreground/background focuses and smooth movements between rooms. The average B-movie would probably take three or four different shots for a one-on-one conversation. Sleep condenses dialogue exchanges into one seamless shot that wastes no energy switching between faces, thus uniting the couple even in framing. The film doesn’t rely on frights, which does some good to my horror-avoidant sensibilities, and the story may not feel entirely unpredictable. But it works at unnerving and hanging you by the edge with wanting to know how on earth this movie could end. B-movies don’t have to be capital-B bad, and Yu makes sure that his first one, whether it is believable or fearful enough, is polished enough for visual delectability.
Themes become more obvious as the movie descends: marital trust, postpartum depression, paranormal madness. The ending to Sleep wouldn’t be found on legitimate brochures on relationship advice or sleep conditions. It might leave you wondering who you become in the presence of an issue, or when push comes to shove. But one thing is clear: more often that not, if someone tells you that you need sleep, it’s not a suggestion.
Sleep
2023
dir. Jason Yu
95 min.
Now available digitally and on demand