Sleep

by Mike McGranaghan

We can all relate to insomnia, bad dreams, and maybe even sleepwalking. Be glad you don’t have to deal with the dilemma faced by the couple at the center of the South Korean chiller Sleep. Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi) is eagerly awaiting the birth of her first child with husband Hyun-su (Lee Sun-kyun). Life seems to be good until Hyun-su abruptly begins talking in his sleep. “Someone’s inside,” he says.

His nocturnal behavior grows increasingly alarming. It goes from talking to devouring red meat and, at one point, even performing an act that nearly kills him. When medical doctors prove to be little help, Soo-jin calls in a paranormal expert to diagnose the problem. That’s when the suggestion arises that Hyun-su is being possessed by an evil spirit every night. The question becomes what that spirit wants.

Sleep is more interested in creating an ominous atmosphere than in generating generic jump scares. Writer/director Jason Yu builds slow-burn suspense partially from showing how Hyun-su’s condition worsens, and partially from Soo-jin’s panicked reaction to it. Rather than making viewers afraid of what might pop out, the movie establishes a mood of unease as we wonder how much damage the ghost can do from the inside.

The approach works because it focuses very much on the characters. Hyun-su is obviously a victim because he’s the one enduring this possession. But Soo-jin is a victim, too. Here’s a young woman who suddenly has to be cognizant of her unborn baby’s health in a scenario in which her husband is going through a process that could end badly for all of them. Although both leads give good performances, Jung Yu-mi is the standout for how she palpably conveys her character’s blood-curdling terror.

Sleep doesn’t land any big punches. Then again, it doesn’t really try to. The movie is meant to be a “burrow under your skin” kind of thing. On that level, it hits the mark. You won’t necessarily be jumping out of your seat, but you may find yourself with fewer fingernails at the end than you had at the beginning.

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