Sleep
Magnet Releasing | Release Date: September 27, 2024 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
80
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
PolygonMatt PatchesDec 9, 2024
Sleep feels like a major debut by a filmmaker who is ready to defy conventions and entertain audiences. It belongs alongside those great Korean horror films, even while standing apart. Read full review
90
New York Magazine (Vulture)Alison WillmoreSep 27, 2024
It’s the sly way that the film starts off lodged in one character’s perspective, and makes its way to the other’s, that enables its rollicking final act to work as well as it does. Sleep is a wild ride, but it refuses to lose sight of the emotional state of the people it puts onscreen, even as they fall apart. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsSep 26, 2024
In his impressive debut feature, writer/director Jason Yu strikes a fine balance between character-driven and high-concept horror. Read full review
83
IndieWireKate ErblandSep 18, 2023
Sleep is fun enough the first time out, but a second watch will likely reveal even more natty twists and smart scripting, nothing to snooze at here. Read full review
83
The Daily BeastNick SchagerSep 16, 2023
A directorial debut of poised peril that should inspire both laughs and a few sleepless nights. Read full review
80
Screen RantZachary MoserOct 4, 2024
The doting relationship between the couple does some heavy lifting for the film and even in the third act (so conveniently announced by chapter cards that appear throughout Sleep), when things nearly go haywire, their believable bond papers over any horror movie lapses in logic. Yu is also wise enough to primarily put the focus on one half of the couple and Jung delivers. Read full review
80
The New York TimesAlissa WilkinsonSep 27, 2024
Yu’s direction is confident, and he manages to convey how a little apartment can transform from domestic comfort by day to claustrophobic agony by night. His restraint throughout keeps us guessing. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeJul 15, 2024
It’s an enjoyably grisly good time – a film that puts both power tools and Pomeranians to gleefully suspenseful use. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeJul 12, 2024
If nothing else, this fine debut feature from Korean director Jason Yu – hitherto assistant director to Bong Joon-ho – counts as a small masterpiece of tone. Read full review
80
Little White LiesJosh Slater-WilliamsJul 11, 2024
Despite sleepiness being part of its premise, the pacing of Yu’s film is propulsive, and the deft detours into dark comedy – especially a reveal involving PowerPoint slides – are a highlight. But it’s Jung and Lee’s work that lingers the most, their thoroughly charming, lively performances enhancing the tragedy and dread of something awful happening to them. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawJul 11, 2024
It is only with the explicit possibility of a supernatural explanation, combined with full-on psychiatric breakdown, that the movie loses its light touch and its plausible detail. Yet there’s always a hyper-vigilant twinge of fear. Read full review
80
Time OutKambole CampbellJul 9, 2024
Yu, an assistant director on Bong Joon-ho’s Okja, shows a similar taste in dark comedy as the Korean master – personal anxieties externalised in instances that can turn from horrific to funny in their absurdity. Read full review
80
SlashfilmRafael MotamayorSep 28, 2023
Jason Yu knows how to stage a tense thriller and gives Sleep a sense of claustrophobia, using the small size of the apartment and some inventive camera movements to slightly change the apartment throughout the film, showing how the characters are losing their grip by making them unfamiliar with the place they know best in the world. Read full review
70
Film ThreatCalan PanchooDec 5, 2023
On one hand, it is a good but seemingly typical genre film that has moments of uncanny intelligence. On the other, it is an uncannily intelligent work that eventually settles for simply being a good genre film. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineSteven ScaifeSep 24, 2024
Jason Yu’s film may not reach its full potential, but it offers a devious commentary on the all-too-human desire for easy explanations. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreSep 24, 2024
I found the early acts boring with moments of shock. But the finale to “Sleep” is a corker and well worth Yu’s perhaps unintentional efforts to encourage the viewer to doze-off. That climax is a waking nightmare of the worst-fears-confirmed variety. Whose worst fears? Watch and see. Read full review
58
The Film StageEthan VestbySep 17, 2023
Yes, admirably “bonkers” by the end, but one wishes the rest of the film could cut a little deeper. Read full review
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