Director: Jason Yu

Stars: Jung Yu-mi, Lee Sun-kyun, Kim Gook-hee

Horror begins at home in this elegantly constructed and atmospheric feature debut from Korean writer-director Jason Yu.

The recently passed Lee Sun-Kyun is Hyun-su, an actor who has attained a moderate level of success, living in a small but nicely furnished apartment with Soo-jin (Jung Yu-Mi), his heavily pregnant estate agent wife. Soo-jin has just commenced her maternity leave. She was reluctant to leave her job sooner as it provided a regular income, unlike her husband’s more erratic career.

On top of her material anxieties, Soo-jin becomes increasingly disturbed by Hyun-su’s nocturnal behaviour. He talks in his sleep, one night sitting bolt upright to announce, ‘Someone is inside.’ Later he sleepwalks, going into the fridge and munching though eggs, shells and all, and meat, then worse.

Regular visits to specialists only temporarily allay the problem, and the couple also must contend with the weird overfamiliar neighbour downstairs (Kim Gook-hee) and her brattish son.

There is social satire here, as Soo-jin’s attempts to live the enviable ideal family life is upended by events, and the film is at its best in the early austere, paranoia-inducing scenes redolent of Polanski at his most unsettling, as we wonder to what extent the happenings are manifestations of the Soo-jin’s anxieties about motherhood and social status. When the cause reveals itself, the plot begins to feel a little cluttered and overwrought, but this is an impressive debut nonetheless, and the leads are excellent.

Sleep is released on 12th July

David Willoughby

Follow David on Twitter @DWill_Crackfilm