Jason Yu shows great promise in his sly and absurd genre debut, Sleep, efficiently using a single location with endless storytelling possibilities.
Out of the offerings Semaine De La Critique, the genre films have stood out for its impressive use of metaphor (Grand Prize Winner, Tiger Stripes) and economical storytelling in Jason Yu’s directorial sleep walking paranoia, Sleep. Endorsed by Bong Joon-Ho as the most “unique horror and smartest debut” film, Yu also worked as an assistant editor for Bong’s 2017 Okja. With great anticipation coming out of the Critics’ Week, this section premiered last year’s festival darling, Aftersun, so Yu’s debut was one to not miss. Fortunately, his debut showed promise on his use of space and clever gimmicks to keep the story engaging, but overall, traded substance for cheap comedic devices.
Hyun-su and Soo-jin are a newlywed couple expecting their first child. Opening with Hyun-su snoring in the morning, Soo-jin is unable to wake him up. Anxious of what comes ahead of their future, Yu slips in little details for Hyun-su’s impending behavior. For one, Hyun-su is an “acclaimed” actor, with his wife being his number one fan, but Hyun-su is a glorified background actor, creating this false expectation of his career and upcoming parenthood. His sleep continues into sleep walking, causing him to perform unusual acts as he sleepwalks, with no recollection of it happening. Soo-jin, an enthusiastic office worker whose optimistic outlook develops into madness as Hyun-su’s sleep walking worsens.
The two barely leave their cramped apartment. With visits to Hyun-su’s doctor for sleeping medication and to the outside of their apartment complex, Yu confines the two in their home to hone out their issues allowing the paranoia to ensue. Hyun-su’s sleepwalking antics go further from eating raw meat in the middle of the night to its eventual turning point dealing with an accidental death, which now leaves Soo-jin to go all in to protect her family and future child. Her paranoia sets in, and Yu’s control of the genre allows the two characters to reach hilarious and absurd peaks.
The film structurally gets more heightened in both location and character arc. New characters are introduced, like a neighborhood shaman who convinces Soo-jin that there are some outside spirits who are behind Hyun-su, while Hyun-su and his doctor prescribe a medicine that slowly cures him of his sleepwalking, but Soo-jin is too far deep into her manic state. The film dives into full mania in its climatic sequence of Soo-jin, clearly in an unwell state, covers the apartment in cryptic post-it notes to wind off this supposed demon, which culminates in a hilarious PowerPoint presentation to Hyun-su of how she can get rid of the demon. Yu plays with genre for his benefit to allow his characters to show the anxious transition to parenthood, while keeping the fun and entertainment in a close-knit space.
One Comment