Deep (2021) Movie Review
Jane was unable to sleep for days because of the anxiety disorder she suffered after her parents died. One situation led to a problem that made Jane need money in large quantities and quickly. The offer to be part of an experiment was tried.
Jane is required not to sleep for several days in exchange for a large amount of money. Jane was not alone. There were three other students who took part in this trial. They try to strengthen each other to stay awake, because if they fall asleep, their lives can be lost.
Will the four young people succeed in this trial? A sci-fi film from Thailand called Deep (2021) will show you the importance of sleep. Interested? Let’s read the synopsis and reviews first! Come on!
Contents
Deep (2021) Synopsis
- Year of Release 2021
- Genres Drama , Mystery , Sci-Fi , Youth
- Director Adirek Wattaleela , Apirak Samudkidpisan , Jetarin Ratanaserikiat , Sita Likitvanichkul , Thanabodee Uawithya
- Cast ∙ Panisara Rikulsurakan ∙ Kay Lertsittichai ∙ Supanaree Sutavijitvong ∙ Krit Jeerapattananuwong ∙ Warisara Jitpreedasakul ∙ Dujdao Vadhanapakorn
A medical student wearing a lab coat is standing on top of the school building. Unsteady and sweaty, his position allowed him to fall at any moment.
School security was seen trying to prevent him but as soon as the door to the top opened, the student fell. The students huddled below were hysterical.
A narration then sounded. A woman’s voice said that we all know humans need at least 8-10 hours to sleep, but never know how long a human can last without closing their eyes. The scene continues when a lecturer is seen explaining about sleep disorders or insomnia.
He told medical students that insomnia was a physical disorder with mental roots. Stress and anxiety can disturb the mind and prevent people from falling asleep, but this usually lasts no more than two days, except in cases of serious clinical insomnia.
Still according to him, people with extreme insomnia experience sleep deprivation for months or even years. This is triggered by something more complicated than stress, such as the impact of the trauma he experienced. He then shows an audio visual , an image of someone who is sleeping but doesn’t look restful.
The lecturer then asked: what happens if humans stay awake for months, even years? While one or two sleepless nights are enough to mess up the human mental capacity which is called emotional deviation. More than three sleepless nights will cause acute confusion and delirium disorders.
When it does, our perception of reality will be distorted. If the condition lasts longer than that, a person will experience auditory and visual hallucinations so that they cannot distinguish between what is reality and what is not.
The film continues when a young woman named Jane (Panisara Rikulsurakan) tells that the longest time she hasn’t slept was three nights. At that time he and his sister, Jane, had just moved into their grandmother’s house.
Since living there he has been worried about the safety of the house. Every night he kept checking the lock even though he knew it was locked. He couldn’t help but keep double-checking.
The girl didn’t seem to feel burdened, she could even see this disturbance from a positive side because it meant she could make the most of the 24 hours she had. One morning Jane received a letter notifying late payment on a home loan. There is written the amount of money to be paid, which is 728,155 Baht.
Jane, who is studying medicine at Sirindara University, submitted a request to stop because of financial constraints. The lecturer who at the beginning explained about insomnia, tried to persuade him. The lecturer, known as Professor Nichcha, then remembered that a pharmaceutical company from Germany had contacted the university.
They are looking for volunteers to research a new drug. The lecturer heard that the pay was quite large. He also felt that from the interviews they did about insomnia, Jane qualified. Jane then took the business card that her lecturer gave her.
The story continued when the girl received an explanation about Qratonin from a German pharmaceutical company that her lecturer recommended. It is a substance that originates from a part of the brain called the thalamus.
Qratonin can be used to treat brain dead patients and this substance is only produced when we are awake. On that basis, the pharmaceutical company from Germany started an experiment called Deep.
They describe the processes in the Deep which consists of three levels. The higher the level, the more concentrated Qratonin will be. The duration of each level may be different for each person. This experiment can only be carried out by personal Weimarers or personnel from the organizing pharmaceutical company.
Soon a middle-aged man named Hans Miller came to see Jane. He is Deep’s research director. Hans began to explain the experiment he was going to do with reference to Alexander Fleming’s success in discovering penicillin which had revolutionized the pharmaceutical business.
Hans wanted Qratonin to do the same. Jane then asked, why is Qratonin only produced when humans are awake? Hans replied by saying that if melatonin is a substance that can make us sleep while Qratonin is the opposite. Jane again asked the question, this time about how much money did she get from this research?
Hans said that for level one, each trial participant gets 100,000 Baht. Jane readily agreed and signed a consent form, which included agreeing to have her implanted with a microchip in the occipital area. This microchip will only take Qratonin from the brain. Hans then inserted the chip into the back of Jane’s neck.
The man said as long as Jane had a microchip on her neck, Jane should wear the watch provided. The clock will measure Jane’s heart rate and the amount of Qratonin that has been obtained in percentage terms. Before leaving the room, Hans reminded Jane not to fall asleep at all.
If Jane sleeps for more than 60 seconds, the microchip may have a short circuit which could cause Jane’s heart to stop. Jane looks to be starting to panic but Hans guarantees that this experiment is safe because the clock will also warn Jane if she accidentally falls asleep. Then can Jane through this experiment?
Deep (2021) Movie Review
No Sleep, Lots of Money but Lost Lives
Those of you who have insomnia problems can be very related to the film Deep (2021). This film focuses on sleep problems that four young people suffer from. Each of them is used to staying up late every day, not even sleeping for three nights. Like Jane, played by Panisara Rikulsurakan.
They are considered qualified as ‘guinea pigs’ for a company that wants to develop anti-sleep drugs in exchange for a certain amount of money. The four young people agreed for different reasons. Unfortunately, the experiment carries a very big risk, namely loss of life.
At the beginning of the film, the tension is not felt because they are still able to complete challenges easily. Entering the middle of the film, the excitement tension starts to rise because they are starting to get overwhelmed. The plot is neatly made because the longer you go, the more you can feel the anxiety of those who haven’t slept for days.
Fresh Sci-Fi Movies
The premise of the film Deep (2021) is actually not something surprising. The idea of making a story like this often comes to mind. Don’t think of it as a nuts film just yet because the execution of the film Deep (2021) as a whole is made quite fresh. Starting from the selection of actors to the cinematography and tone of the film, you will not get bored.
The young actors involved in this film managed to play their respective roles according to their portion. The insertion of romantic seasoning between them is not excessive and the emotions needed are conveyed appropriately. The most interesting thing is that this film is packed with fun cinematography.
Several scenes were taken in super close up. In addition, even though it is a sci-fi genre with themes of death, anxiety and life-threatening hallucinations, the choice of colors in this film is mostly quite bright.
You won’t be bothered by low lighting or dark colors on the screen. Only, for some spectators, this might feel less right and kicking.
Sub-conflict Keeps You Not Bored
In about 1 hour and 40 minutes, in addition to showing the main conflict, Deep (2021) also includes each character’s sub-conflict as a background. Starting from Jane who seems to show anxiety disorder due to trauma in the past as a result of seeing her parents’ murder so that she often doesn’t sleep for days.
He joined the experiment to raise money to pay off the mortgage on his grandmother’s house he now lives in with his younger sister. Then there is Win, who has problems with his father after his mother’s death.
He loves to stay up late and spend the night in nightclubs while getting drunk. Then there is Cin who is a beauty vlogger with thousands of followers. He had trouble sleeping because he felt burdened by studying medicine.
Finally, there is Peach who turns out to be obsessed with Cin. Besides having an obsession with this beautiful girl, Peach’s character is said to like staying up late because she is a gamer .
The different sub-conflicts of each character form a straight line that connects them with the experiments in this film. The effort to create sub-conflict is successful enough to make the film not boring.
Overall, Deep (2021) offers a story that isn’t too surprising, but the five directors involved in this film managed to package it in an interesting way. It also contains several explanations and visualizations regarding the body’s reaction if you are sleep deprived. Curious? Deep (2021) can be watched on Netflix!
