Train to Busan, The wailing, A story of two sisters, I have seen the devil – these were the Korean horror films that came to the US and took off intensiveoften sprawling films that teeter on the edge of being a thriller. Your nightmares remain.
So Sleepnow in US theaters, was an immediate surprise simply because it was a Korean horror film with a playful rhythm. Consider the heightened naturalism of Bong Joon-ho parasite or The host…but stranger. The feature film debut of Jason Yu (whose previous credits include work as Bong’s assistant director on ” OK) tells what happens to a newlywed couple when one partner’s sleep disorder takes the form of a violent spirit possession – and it might actually be one. As Yu examines the consequences of the situation, Sleep veers from domestic drama to the bizarre, often in funny ways.
Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi from Train to Busan) is the business manager and breadwinner of her growing family. Her husband Hyun-su (Lee Sun-kyun from 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 challenges of pregnancy. She always returns to the mantra that hangs on a wooden sign in her apartment: “Together we can overcome anything.”
Image: Magnetic release
With warm yellow tones and delicate staging, Yu’s style reinforces the couple’s loving protectiveness, which is then immediately undone by the worst case of sleepwalking imaginable. Soo-jin wakes up one morning to find Hyun-su with a nasty scratch on his face. The next evening she catches him wandering around the house devouring raw meat and eggs. Doctors diagnose him with severe parasomnia, but it can be cured with safety measures and medication.
But like a horror version of Mike Birbiglia Sleepwalk with meHyun-su cannot be held back and comes closer and closer to fatal self-harm with each passing night. Soo-jin loses sleep agonizing over her husband, and then the baby is born, leading to sleepless nights and potential targets for the “monster” living in their house. Sleep
Yu finds the space to delve into Soo-jin’s psychological situation, that of a supportive wife during the day and a protector at night, who never sleeps and slowly unravels. Jung Yu-mi masters the red-colored eye flicker that defined Essie Davis’ performance The Babadook so primal, and the tensions that arise between the couple – even while one half is sleeping – become extremely tragic. Then Yu dodges.
[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 overwhelming tension of the moment makes Soo-jin and her mother wonder if there’s something more going on with Hyun-su. So they consult an exorcist, Madame Haegoong, whose energy is pure Tangina Barrons poltergeist
There is more beneath the surface Sleepwith Yu drawing on all sorts of genre elements to unsettle and titillate. There’s a lot to laugh about as Soo-jin delves deeper into the supernatural theory and Hyun-su wakes up with sparkling eyes. (I screamed when one of the best PowerPoint presentations of all time was delivered near the end of this film.) But even Yu never lets go of the danger; Hyun-su’s Nightshade must be stopped.
Sleep feels like a major debut from a filmmaker willing to defy convention and entertain audiences. It’s one of the great Korean horror films, even if it’s on the sidelines.
