Sleep Blu-ray presents the haunting debut feature from director Michael Venus, a richly layered psychological horror that fuses folk mythology, national trauma, and dream logic into a deeply unsettling cinematic experience. Drawing influence from German fairy tales, Mario Bava’s gothic imagery, and the fractured subconscious worlds of David Lynch and Franz Kafka, Sleep announces a striking new voice in modern horror cinema.
 
Marlene is plagued by recurring nightmares of a place she has never visited, visions so vivid they begin to fracture her waking life. When she discovers the location exists in reality, she travels there and soon suffers a complete breakdown, ending up confined to a psychiatric ward. Years later, her daughter Mona follows the trail to the isolated village of Stainbach, determined to uncover what shattered her mother’s mind. What she finds is a community haunted by buried guilt, collective repression, and an ancient darkness embodied by a mysterious woman living deep within the surrounding forest.
 
Anchored by a powerful performance from Sandra Hüller and an emotionally raw turn from Gro Swantje Kohlhof, Sleep operates as both folk horror and psychological reckoning, using nightmares as a gateway into inherited trauma and historical silence. This Arrow Video limited edition includes extensive bonus features that explore the film’s themes, symbolism, and folkloric roots in depth.
 
directed by: Michael Venus
starring: Sandra Hüller, Gro Swantje Kohlhof, August Schmölzer, Marion Kracht, Agata Buzek
2020 / 102 min