Nightmare and trauma. Fear and repression. Guilt and atonement. Weaving together the emotional violence of horror with the cryptic motifs of German folk and fairy tales, Arrow Video is proud to present Sleep, the debut feature from a major new talent in world cinema. Tormented by recurring nightmares of a place she has never been, Marlene (Sandra Hüller, Requiem) cannot help but investigate when she discovers the place is real. Once there, she suffers a breakdown and is admitted to a psychiatric ward. Determined to discover what happened to her, Mona (Gro Swantje Kohlhof), her daughter, follows and finds herself in Stainbach, an idyllic village with a dark history. What is it that so tormented her mother, and the people of Stainbach? What is the source of the nightmares she suffers? And who is the mysterious Trude that lives in the forest? Richly conceived and confidently told, director Michael Venus draws influence from Mario Bava, David Lynch, Franz Kafka and the Brothers Grimm, but his voice is uniquely his own. As invested in substance and story as he is in style, Venus claws his way down to the roots of what haunts a people, a community, a nation and comes up screaming. "Will definitely keep you up at night" - Joey Keough, Wicked Horror
Bonus Materials
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original DTS-MA 5.1 audio
Optional English subtitles
Audio commentary by film critic and historian Kim Newman & author Sean Hogan
A Strange Dark Magic, a visual essay by film scholar Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
Sleepwalking through National Trauma, a visual essay by film critic Anton Bitel
Dream & Folktale in Sleep, an interview with anthropologist, dream researcher, and filmmaker Louise S. Milne
Talking in their Sleep, director Michael Venus and star Gro Swantje Kohlhof in conversation
A Dream We Dream Together, a compilation of film festival introductions created during lockdown by director Michael Venus and the cast of Sleep
Making Dreams Come True, a glimpse behind the scenes of Sleep
Deleted Scenes
Marlene’s Sketches, explore the many obsessive dream journal sketches that are only glimpsed in the film, created by artist Christoph Vieweg, presented here in full
Trailer
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Oink Creative
Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing by Alison Peirse, an interview with director Michael Venus, and Brothers Grimm fairy tale 'Frau Trude'
Double-sided fold-out poster featuring newly commissioned artwork by Oink Creative
