Sleep: O Mal Nunca Dorme

This is a solid little Korean horror film, with a simple plot that's executed well. The acting from the two leads, Jung Yu-mi and Lee Sun-kyun, is top-notch. Jung particularly is great as the wife.

Where the film falters is in its open-endedness. There's a death early in the film that's seemingly significant for a few minutes, then the characters seemingly forget about it, then it's brought up again later in the film. And later in the film a character disappears then comes back without any real explanation. It left me wondering if perhaps the editor mistakenly edited out the scene showing what occurred between the character going missing and then popping up again. It just was bizarre. But some may consider this inexplicability to be a strength that adds to the spookiness. That leads me to the next point.

The great thing about this film is that, just like the characters, we're unsure of what's really going on here until the end. Is the husband mentally ill? Does he have a sleep disorder? Is he a ghost? Is he possessed? Is he acting? The film does a good job sprinkling in different possibilities throughout the runtime.

Sleep isn't a masterpiece but it's a pretty good debut from Jason Yu with strong directing, interesting writing and great performances from the cast members. Yu's direction and writing does a pretty good job on balancing out the tones of comedy and horror and creating a good sense of tense and terrifying atmospheres surrounding the setting and characters. The main premise is definitely very interesting as I don't see many movies focus on horror elements regarding sleepwalking or so forth. The narrative, while does have some faults and could have explored certain aspects a little more, is solid with good dialogue and executions being satisfying.

All of the performances are really good as each of the cast members does a good job on performing their characters. The soundtrack, production sets and the dialogue is pretty good too. While some depth in the characters could have been explored a bit, I found the characters to be entertaining to observe. There are some moments that were well-executed, especially a scene regarding PowerPoint's that was really entertaining. On the structure, the movie is a slow-burn but not once the movie felt slow or dull.

Overall, I am impressed with Jason Yu's first feature. No doubt there are some flaws but Yu's talent is pretty impressive enough to not overshadow the entire movie. I look forward to see what Jason Yu can offer in the future with his talents.

A fine debut thriller from Jason Yu. It was shown in Cannes and was pretty well received by critics. Now, after finally seeing it, I'll be joining those who recommend it.

This is a playful exercise in subverting genre expectations. The premise uses horror tropes in interesting ways, without succumbing to overwrought melodrama or clichés. A lot can be said about its expert direction; Yu finely balances humor and horror, and the script mischievously makes you question whether what you're seeing is paranormal or psychological in nature. He is enormously helped by Lee Sun-kyun (a formidable actor at this point) and the always lovely Jang Yu-mi. Their couple has loads of chemistry that is utilized to great effect.

Also, the short-ish runtime of 94 minutes ensures no minute is wasted and no plot point unnecessarily protracted. A hearty recommendation if you like your thrillers twisted and adventurous.

Terrific premise for a movie that really delivers - sure the cliched horror movie scares run through much of the film but everything is performed in such an imaginative and inventive way that you are fascinated - engaged - and thoroughly frightened - Sleep has a great premise - two loving individuals have their world turned upside down by the husbands sleep walking - sleep walking that turns into a horror show as the film moves forward - is he having a psychotic break ? Is it really a sleep disorder ? Or is there something more sinister in the works? Who is the really crazy person here? Noone is safe as the movie progresseses..and while an overall simple movie it is powerful in its delivery - with characters that are very well developed - and two dogs that are essential to the overall plot - and a power drill - enough said - Lots of fun! Delivers the goods !!

Giving this an 7/10 rating

Not much blood in this one, more of a slow build up and use of the environment, the two main characters, which are husband and wife in a new place, and then, stuff stars to happen, that really does effect them both

A good simple premise is done good, thanks, down to great acting and very good dialogue, effective soul design, and good writing and directing for Jason Yu.

The trio of Kim Gook Hee, Yoon Kyung-ho and Lee Sun-kyun, pull off good work, and have to make work of the limited setting of home, and the other settings. The limitations are the driving force and are used with much thought. And this film proves that ou can do a horror, with out loads of blood and make it interesting. Sleep can be dangerous, and this film shows us the effects of it.