South Korean cinema continues to be a thriller forerunner in many genres, especially horror, and the new horror thriller, “Sleep,” seems to be continuing the tradition. The film is the feature-length directorial debut of Jason Yu, a second unit director on Bong Joon-Ho’s sci-fi-ish thriller “Okja.” The connections to Joon-Ho don’t end there either, as “Parasite” star Lee Sun-Kyun is among the cast members. Sadly, the film will be one of his last onscreen appearances—the actor died in late 2023 at the age of 48 (a rather sad story, you can read here).
Bong Joon-Ho described it as “the most unique horror film and the smartest debut film I’ve seen in ten years,” via Empire, which revealed the new trailer. The film centers on a young, pregnant wife (Jung Yu-mi) who must figure out how to stop her husband’s (Lee Sun-Kyun) nightmarish sleepwalking habits before he harms himself or his family. Is he possessed, unwell, or something worse? The trailer certainly hints at something sinister.
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Here’s the official synopsis:
Hyun-su and Soo-jin are newlyweds. Seemingly out of nowhere, he starts talking in his sleep: ‘Someone’s inside.’ From that night on, whenever he falls asleep, he transforms into someone else with no recollection of what happened the night before. Soo-jin is overwhelmed with anxiety that he’d hurt her family while she sleeps and can barely sleep a wink because of this rational fear. Despite sleep treatment, Hyun-su’s sleepwalking only intensifies, and she begins to feel that her unborn child may be in danger…
“Sleep” made its international premiere on May 21, 2023, after being chosen in the Critics’ Week portion of the 76th Cannes Film Festival on April 17, 2023. No word on a North American release yet, but “Sleep” is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom on July 12, 2024.