Deep Parent Guide
Sleep deprivation stories have been done before and done better.
Parent Movie Review
Jane (Panisara Rikulsurakan) is a medical student who also takes care of her grandmother and younger sister, June (Warisara Jitpreedasakul), while trying to stay on top of her studies. Facing financial difficulties at home, Jane is referred to a pharmaceutical research company to participate in a study on insomnia in order to make some extra money. Along with some of her fellow medical students, Jane soon realizes that this study is far more insidious than first presented, but the deeper into the study you are, the harder it is to get out.
Sci-fi is a genre that can be used to tell a multitude of stories, from big budget action films to philosophical musings on the nature of humanity. One thing that sci-fi should never be, however, is boring. And I am sorry to report that Deep commits that cardinal sin. Sleep deprivation as a catalyst for thriller and horror stories has been done before, but I believe there’s always room for new takes on a well-traveled idea. Unfortunately, the writers of Deep don’t have anything new to add or anything profound to say.
I should start by pointing out that this production was partially funded by Finn Mobile, a Thai telecommunications company, and it shows. I can forgive a bit of product placement, or even a throwaway line or two that mentions the service, but Finn Mobile pops up an excessive amount, to the point where the movie just feels like a really weird advertisement. Perhaps that’s just me, and some viewers might not even notice, but I found this aspect to be distracting.
The characters are, for the most part, flat stereotypes of young adults. One is an influencer so she’s vapid and self-centered. One is a gamer so he’s awkward and socially inept. You get the picture. I think the writers wanted to create a character driven story, since the film is lacking in action until the very end, but none of the characters are terribly likeable, nor do they grow and change in substantial ways. I didn’t care about any of them going into the third act, so I didn’t find myself all that concerned when they found themselves in danger.
Another big negative is the terrible quality of the English dubs. The grammar and translations seem ok to me, but the English voice acting is some of the worst I’ve heard since Japanese Saturday morning cartoons in the 90s. Luckily, the subtitles are well done, so I recommend watching in Thai and avoidint the atrocious voice acting all together.
As far as content is concerned, there’s enough drinking, swearing, and violence that I wouldn’t recommend this film to young audiences. Suicide is discussed in multiple scenes, which could be triggering to some viewers as well. Even putting the negative content aside, I don’t recommend this movie from a creative or entertainment perspective anyway. There’s a lot of good sci-fi media out in the world, so I don’t see any point in wasting your time on the mediocre ones if you can help it.
Directed by Adirek Wattaleela and Wisit Sasanatieng. Starring Care-Panisara Rikulsurakan, Kay Lertsittichai, Fern-Supanaree Sutavijitvong, Kit-Krit Jeerapattananuwong. Running time: 101 minutes. Theatrical release July 16, 2021. Updated October 2, 2021Watch the trailer for Deep
Deep
Rating & Content Info
Why is Deep rated TV-MA? Deep is rated TV-MA by the MPAA for suicide, substances, language
Violence: A man falls off a building. Medical students work on cadavers. A woman hallucinates pools of blood on the floor. Multiple fistfights occur, including punching, kicking, and grappling. A man hallucinates a woman holding a gun to her own head and firing. Suicide is discussed.
Sexual Content: A woman is accused of “sleeping around”. A woman discusses wanting breast augmentation, and a fantasy scene shows her with comically enlarged (clothed) breasts. A man and woman kiss.
Profanity: (Profanity based on English subtitles) There are over five uses of sexual expletives, along with approximately 20 uses of moderate and mild language. Some insults such as idiot and prick are used as well.
Alcohol / Drug Use: Adult characters drink alcohol in many scenes. One character is described as a “party boy” and is often seen drinking and partying. A group of young adults misuse prescription medications, which has negative consequences for them.
Page last updated October 2, 2021
Deep Parents' Guide
What effects does lack of sleep have on the students? How does sleep deprivation effect their lives and choices?
Home Video
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Ah, experiments. They provide a fertile field for sci-fi flicks. Flatliners features medical students, this time a group of whom go rogue and decide to see what happens if they stop their hearts for a few moments before reviving each other. College students star – again – in The Apparition. This supernatural flick revolves around a group of students who believe that ghostly beings are real to those who believe in them. In Source Code, a man wakes up to find himself as part of a government experiment. In this case, he’s able to assume a man’s identity for the last eight minutes of his life – and the point is to use that ability to prevent a terrorist attack.
For a much less scary look at research, Clara tells the story of a post-doctoral research fellow and the free spirit he hires to assist with his searches through the universe. As they map his obsessions, they come up with some startling answers.
Sleep is also fodder for films. The classic film about sleep is Inception, in which Leonardo DiCaprio plays a man who can enter a person’s dreams and steal information from their subconscious minds. In Awake, a cataclysmic event has wiped out all the earth’s electronics and destroyed people’s ability to sleep. Except for one little girl… An insomniac seeks professional help with her fractured sleep in Come True. But the sleep study in which she is enrolled drag her into a nightmarish world of paranoia and terror.
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