This was another stylized, arty psychological thriller / horror that was very promising at the beginning, but still drowned by the end on average. “Sleep” or “Schlaf” is also Michael Venus’ debut feature film, which he presented in Berlin, and it is a film that seems bizarre, mysterious, strange, sinister from the very beginning. In an excellent introductory scene, we see both Marlene’s mother (Sandra Hüller) and her teenage daughter Mona (Gro Swantje Kohlhof). They are having fun with a board game, suddenly they start talking about pills and it seems that the daughter is the one who has some problems. But suddenly the stewardess’s mom seems to fall into some deep sleep and suddenly wakes up in bed and remembers nothing. Even then, it is clear to us that Marlene is the one who has a sleep disorder and is haunted by phantasmagoric, horrible dreams in which a wild boar usually appears.
Instead of on a plane to Istanbul, Marlene will show up at an almost “Shining” hotel somewhere in the solitude of a German province, and when she ends up in a catatonic state, her daughter will go in search of her. The owners of the hotel are a seemingly typical German older couple, Otto and Lore, and of course it will turn out that this hotel hides some dark family secrets that have a lot to do with Marlene and Mona. It will soon become unclear what the dream is and what the reality is, Mona will start experiencing some sick visions, it will seem more and more surreal. It will seem to us that Mona, like that kid from “Sixth Sense”, has the ability to see the dead and even communicate with them, and in a series of twists and surprises, we will realize that this whole story has something to do with Nazi history in Germany. Everything is broken down and it didn’t work out the way I hoped, but “Schlaf” isn’t a bad movie either. Rating 6/10.
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