Bong Joon-ho protégé Jason Yu’s clever horror debut stars South Korean favourites Lee Sun-kyun (Parasite) and Jung Yu-mi (Train to Busan, MIFF 2016).

Newlyweds Hyun-su (Lee) and Soo-jin (Jung) are expecting a baby, but this may not be the only new addition to their home. One night, Hyun-su sits bolt upright in bed, declaring, “Someone’s inside,” before falling back asleep. Are his somnambulant speeches just night terrors, like the doctors suggest? Or has a more sinister presence invaded their home, as the increasingly anxious Soo-jin fears?

Palme d’Or-winning director Bong has called Sleep, which premiered in competition at Cannes Critics’ Week, “the most unique horror film and the smartest debut film he has seen in 10 years”. Unfolding primarily within the couple’s apartment, Yu deftly conjures an all-consuming atmosphere of domestic claustrophobia, offsetting creeping dread with dark humour. Supernatural scares are grounded by authentic performances from leads Lee and Jung – who also starred together in Hong Sang-soo’s Our Sunhi (MIFF 2014) and Oki’s Movie (MIFF 2011) – in an unsettling marriage story that asks if we can ever truly know the people we love. This assured first feature confirms Yu as a filmmaker to watch.

“Yu’s Sleep is a helluva feature debut that should make him a star … A dazzling, superbly rendered genre exercise.” – Awards Daily