Sleep Blu-Ray

WHO PROTECTS YOU WHEN YOU SLEEP?

Nightmares and trauma. Fear and repression. Guilt and atonement. Arrow Video combines the emotional violence of horror with the cryptic motifs of German folk tales and legends, and is proud to present Sleep, the debut film from a new major talent in world cinema.

Marlene (Sandra Hüller, Requiem) is plagued by recurring nightmares about a place she has never been to and cannot help but investigate when she discovers that the place is real. Once there, she suffers a breakdown and is admitted to a psychiatric ward. Mona (Gro Swantje Kohlhof), her daughter, is determined to find out what happened to her and follows her, ending up in Stainbach, an idyllic village with a dark history. What has tormented her mother and the people of Stainbach so much? What is the source of the nightmares she suffers from? And who is the mysterious Trude who lives in the forest?

Director Michael Venus has drawn inspiration from Mario Bava, David Lynch, Franz Kafka, and the Brothers Grimm, but his voice is entirely his own. Equally invested in substance and narrative as in style, Venus delves down to the roots of what haunts a people, a community, a nation, and comes up screaming.

"Will definitely keep you awake at night." - Joey Keough, Wicked Horror

SPECIAL FEATURES

High-definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation

Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio

Optional English subtitles

Audio commentary by film critic and historian Kim Newman and 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 and Folktale in Sleep, an interview with anthropologist, dream researcher, and filmmaker Louise S. Milne This is No Dream, a visual essay by film researcher Louise S. Milne Milne

This is No Dream, a short introduction by director Michael Venus and star Gro Swantje-Kohlhof

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 actors in Sleep

Making Dreams Come True, a glimpse behind the scenes of Sleep

Deleted scenes

Marlene's Sketches, explore the many haunting dream diary sketches that only appear briefly in the film, created by artist Christoph Vieweg, presented here in their entirety

Trailer

Image gallery

Reversible cover with original and newly commissioned artwork by Dare Creative