The long-used term, “Things that go bump in the night” refers to ghosts or other supernatural beings that are believed to be the source of unexplainable noises heard in the dark. South Korean writer/director Jason Yu’s eerie and atmospheric new horror film, Sleep, asks the question, “what if YOU are the terror that goes bump in the night?” 

Sleep is a disturbing look at a young couple and the ever-present horrors that begin to intrude on their happy home, as the husband begins to suffer from an increasingly dangerous sleepwalking disorder. The terrifying fear of not being able to trust one’s own partner makes for a creepy vibe and director Yu is quite skilled in traversing the unnerving tension without losing the depth of the characters he creates. 

Sleep follows a young couple who are awaiting the birth of their first child. Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi) lives happily with her actor husband Hyun-su (the late Lee Sun-kyun). While she works in an office and he is still struggling as an actor, the two seem content with their life and are excited about their impending parenthood. Their life and marriage are full of love and respect. In a sweet touch, the couple refer to one another as “Mr. Oscar Winner” and “Ms. Executive”. The director gives these early moments of domestic intimacy a natural aura, never allowing the couple to become caricatures, while the actors give their relationship a lived-in feel. 

Hyun-su begins sleepwalking, but nothing out of the ordinary transpires. He sits up in bed, staring out like a zombie, says a word or two and then falls back asleep. The incidents are so harmless, Soo-jin teases him about it, as it makes her giggle more than it makes her uncomfortable. 

Eventually, Hyun-su’s sleepwalking becomes something more sinister and the incidents begin to manifest an air of danger. Inside their once peaceful home, their den of domesticity no longer feels safe. Soo-Jin’s mother suggests her son-in-law may be possessed by a ghost; a thought that lingers in her daughter’s ever-worrying mind. Once the baby is born, Hyun-su’s events become more chilling. As Soo-jin’s paranoia reaches the boiling point, so does the unbearable horror of the piece. Soo-jin becomes obsessed with the fear that her husband might harm their baby, leading the character (and the film) into a descent of Polanski-like paranoia and ultimate desperation. 

Director Yu uses the claustrophobic surroundings of the couple’s apartment to toy with the ever-growing psychological imbalance between the two lead characters. As Soo-jin finds no escape from what reveals itself to be a supernatural peril, the filmmaker won’t allow his audience the chance to take a breath. Though Yu’s script allows for a couple of macabre moments of humor, the filmmaker tightens the grip on his slow-building horror and achieves an unbearable tension. With his feature debut, Jason Yu (a protégé  of director Bong Joon-ho) proves he knows the proper way to execute a good horror film.

As do the best Asian genre films, Sleep elevates its tale of terror through well-crafted characters and heavy human drama, making their committed relationship key to the increasing dramatic suspense. It is in the portrayal of family and the undying dedication (in sickness and health) of a wife to her ailing husband that makes the horror more complex. Soo-jin knows she and her newborn child are in extreme danger, but what is a family without a father? Knowing Hyun-su is under the unbearable spell of something he cannot control, his wife is resolute in her dedication. Soo-jin begins to investigate how to fight the evil that has plagued their happy home. Doing so, she risks the lives of their entire family unit. In Yu’s excellent screenplay, undying love is both savior and downfall.

Director Yu finds a sharp focus as he navigates the intensity of the claustrophobic paranoia. Tae-soo Kim’s camera holds the frame rather than using a constant movement. Kim shoots the picture in an unhurried style, meticulously calibrating the unsettling quiet while using the shadowy darkness of the couple’s apartment to chilling effect. Ultimately, the audience feels as captive as Soo-jin.

As Tobe Hooper’s 1982 classic, Poltergeist, took time to assure viewers cared for the family, thus intensifying the horrors to come, Yu crafts a loving portrait of a couple whose vows will be tested beyond anything they can imagine. We care about these two souls, which makes the horrors that plague them all the more powerful.

A layered and inescapable waking nightmare, Sleep is an intense and gripping debut feature that finds symmetry in the emotional and the supernatural.

Sleep

Written and Directed by Jason Yu

Starring Jung Yu-mi, Lee Sun-kyun, Yoon Kyung-ho, Kim Gook Hee, Erin Nicole Lundquist

NR, 94 Minutes, Magnet Releasing, Solaire Partners LLC, Lotte Entertainment, By4MStudio