Synopsis:
Plagued by a recurring series of nightmares all set inside the same village hotel, flight attendant Marlene (Sandra Hüller, Toni Erdmann) goes hunting for answers, only to wind up hospitalized, paralyzed from trauma. Fearing for her mother’s well-being, Mona (Gro Swantje Kohlhof) checks into a hotel near the hospital, the very one haunting Marlene’s nightmares, Despite the friendly overtures of the caretaker and his wife, Mona, the sole guest during the off-season, finds herself trapped in a web of unsettling visions of the past that threaten to claim her own sanity. First-time filmmaker Michael Venus channels Grimms’ Fairy Tales by way of David Lynch to fashion a chilling debut where dreams and reality collide.
As of October 14th, The 56th Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) has begun. Running through October 25th, I have been lucky enough to be granted some virtual screenings, as the entire experience is virtual due to The Rona. This is the second of about ten works I viewed that are apart of their ‘After Dark’ series and they all fit perfectly in October.
When was the last time you had a nightmare? How real did it feel? Some of us are plagued more than others by our sleep reality but it usually doesn’t affect our day to day routines too much. However, what happens if your nightmares begin to bleed into your reality as if they’re speaking to you? Resulting in you being unable to tell if your sleep or awake. Sleep takes one of our most cherished and necessary human acts and turns it into a haunted, mind-bending mystery-thriller. The German film directed by newcomer Michael Venus, not only fits snugly in the horror genre but it excels in doing so. There’s an ominous tone from the very beginning that immediately sparks curiosity. It’s full of twists and turns that keep you on your toes, keeping you guessing and every guess is never quite right. The grim story is rife with dark secrets and historical ties that increasingly makes the film more macabre. At one point it gave me A Nightmare on Elm Street vibes but in a functional way, not a comical way. In fact, there are only a few, very subtle humorous moments. It stays true to its eerie tone for the majority of the film. The characters slowly unravel making for an intense climax. The cinematography is great, the score is chilling, and the characters and storyline are well crafted. There’s hauntings, a revenge plot, mystery, and more. Overall, Sleep is a great and intriguing watch. It’s rewatchability is medium-high.
Plot & Pace
Marlene, a single mother suffers from terrible nightmares that feel very real to her. She sees places that she’s never been and people she’s never met but she knows they’re real. They get so bad that sometimes she isn’t sure what is real and what isn’t. She decides to visit the place she continuously sees in her nightmares in hopes of figuring out its importance. After having a weird interaction, she retires to her room and falls into a stupor. It is now up to her daughter, Mona to figure out what is wrong with her mother and why this is all happening. Once Mona checks into a local hotel, things start to get very eerie and what affects her mother is now starting to affect her. As strange and haunting things begin to happen more frequently, she is now invested in trying to obtain the answers that plague her.
The pacing of the film feels a tad slow but that is only due to the film’s ambiance. It’s void of any unneeded nonsense and allows vacant space to breathe, which adds to the eerie tone of the film.
Characters & Chemistry
The cast delivers a great performance. While Gro Swantje Kohlhof as Mona was strong and in one scene, very creepily transformative, it was Otto (August Schmölzer) and Lore (Marion Kracht) that stood out to me. They were the most mysterious characters in the film. You could never quite tell if they were trustworthy or if they had malicious motives. The unfolding of their story is fantastic. The almost cat and mouse-like chemistry that Mona has with the couple is fun and unsettling to watch.
Sleep is currently playing during the 56th Chicago International Film Festival. Enjoy and stay safe.
Director: Michael Venus
Writers: Thomas Friedrich, Michael Venus
Rated: NR
Runtime: 1h 40m
Rated: 4 out of 5
Senior Critic. Observing the human race since 1988.
