Chasing sleep wer ist der mörder

Synopsis

The nightmare begins when you open your eyes...

A college professor wakes up to find his wife has not returned home, then struggles to understand her disappearance.

• Cast
• Crew
• Details
• Genres

Cast

Director

Producers

Writer

Editor

Cinematography

Production Design

Art Direction

Costumes

Studios

Countries

Language

Alternative Titles

La pesadilla, Навязчивый сон

Genres

Themes

Intense violence and sexual transgression Thrillers and murder mysteries Horror, the undead and monster classics horror, creepy, eerie, blood or gothic thriller, psychological, suspense, twist or disturbing scary, horror, creepy, supernatural or frighten cops, murder, thriller, detective or crime film noir, femme fatale, 1940s, thriller or intriguing Show All…

Popular reviews

• Jeff Daniels plays an insomnia-addled college professor and former poet who is sent over the edge when his wife goes missing. A police detective begins investigating, one of Daniels’ female students starts paying him visits at home after his absence from class gives her cause for concern (spurred also by an amorous interest outside the academic realm), and the gym teacher at the middle school where his wife works accuses him of foul play.  The film is a bit of a slow burn but executed in an interestingly odd format, which deliberately obscures certain details, while also embedding symbolic imagery into the narrative, suggesting things may not be what they seem.  While it remains compelling, it’s not the greatest screenplay…

• Spooktober #35.

  In 2000, Michael Walker filmed "The Tell-tale Heart" as if it were Eraserhead and submerged it in several inches of Dark Water. He took Jeff Daniels to the end of his rope and turned a leering, invasive camera on him, and the result was tossed on home video a year after its premier on the festival circuit. It makes you wonder what else is quietly moldering away on disc. It makes you wonder how much sleep you're really getting. It makes you never want to use your bathtub again.

• A cross between a good version of The Machinist and Memento with a weird dreamlike state achieved via some excellent filmmaking and even though I was sure of where it was headed I was completely engaged throughout as Ed (The ever versatile Jeff Daniels) loses his grip on reality after his wife goes missing and is beset by worsening insomnia.
  Somehow, even in my tired state my attention was held the entire time and nearly every aspect worked from the sometimes surreal aspects to the excellent sound design to the acting that was borderline stage-y (in a good way) and just felt off from the whole cast, what was real and what was remembered and what was imagined? A measured…

• First thought was Jeff Daniels isn't really built for this kind of imploding psychological horror but it kind of works to his benefit as he starts to crumble under the pressure. As always, I admire the economy of a work like this,  set entirely inside the house, with Daniels carrying the majority of the movie. It has good bones and if the twists aren't totally unpredictable, the atmosphere is claustrophobic and terrifying to me. I might be biased because I've had many  nightmares exactly like this (it would spoil to describe) and it captures that feeling exactly. Your mileage may vary.

• This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

  tw: HUGE baby

• Deliberately off-putting and stripped down, but featuring an incredible Jeff Daniels performance running the full gamut of psychological thriller emotions. You can feel his exhaustion oozing off the screen and seeping into your own pores.

• 104 minutes of Jeff Daniels attempting to dispose of a severed finger that may or may not be a figment of his imagination, which isn't the worst way to spend 104 minutes tbh.

• This movie's style and the main character's insomnia both made me think of the Machinist, a movie I really like.

  As for this movie, Jeff Daniels waits for his wife to come home from work but she never does. He's worried about her and stays up all night waiting. He makes a few calls, including to the hospital and eventually the police.

  From there, part of the story focuses on the mystery of what's happened to the wife, and part of it focuses on Daniels and the lack of trust he has in his memories and observations as a result of his recent insomnia.

  Although I compared it to the Machinist, I wouldn't say this is as good, for me,…

• The most important thing in the world to Jeff Daniels is that his toilet can flush fingers

• 10/10 Such an underrated film. What an experience. It has amazing cinematography. Using interesting camera angels, slow camera movements, and lingering shots alongside a brilliant use of lighting creating shadows and dwelling in darkness, it generates a perfectly fitting tone for the movie. The sound is magnificent as well. It's erie. The music and the background sounds work together to give a feeling of uneasiness. Jeff Daniels gives a very understated performance as a very emotionally detached character who is just completely lost. The movie escalates perfectly and plays with time in such an interesting way that compliments the story and what the character is going through. The use of mainly one setting creates feelings of confinement. All the elements work together in a completely cohesive way creating this mesmerizing atmosphere. This is one of those movies that just reminds me of what film can do. It also has minimal yet effective use of surreal imagery. Absolutely breathtaking. Pure art.

• The ultimate in sloooooow burn horror movie making. Jeff Daniels suffers from insomnia, his wife is missing, as is the last 90 minutes of my life. Jesus.