Would you survive the apocalypse? Would your friends and family survive it? What if, in order to survive, you had to deny yourself a basic human function to even have a chance? In recent years, film and TV shows have been experimenting with this concept.
These are sensory deprivation horror movies set in post-apocalyptic worlds and life-or-death situations with a group of characters trying to survive after learning they must deprive one of their senses or daily functions if they want to overcome the cards life has dealt them.
To name some examples, “Bird Box,” the 2018 film, required a mother to protect her family from an unseen entity that made those who saw it die, so they had to temporarily blind themselves to survive.
“A Quiet Place” series, which also started in 2018, required a family to not make any sound, including speaking, to avoid monsters that are drawn to sound. Similarly to “A Quiet Place”, in Germany a 2019 film called “The Silence” followed a family that also had to avoid entities attracted to sound but gets roped into a cult that tries to exploit them.
“Don’t Breathe” from 2016, follows home intruders who break into an old blind man’s house, but realize their mistake as they’ve entered a game of predator vs. prey, and have to control their breathing and avoid making noise.
A notable mention is Stephen King’s “The Mist.” Originally, it was a book published in 1980, a film in 2007, and a TV series in 2017. King’s story follows townspeople in a supermarket (a mall in the 2017 iteration), as a mist surrounds them, and whoever leaves gets brutally attacked by something no one can see.
Now, in October 2024, we have “The Edge of Sleep.” Based on the 2019 drama podcast of the same name, “The Edge of Sleep” follows Dave Torres, played by YouTube personality and actor Mark Fischbach, also known as Markiplier. He is a night guard with parasomnia, a sleep disorder that causes confusional arousals, sleepwalking, night terrors, and vivid nightmares, as the University of Michigan Health describes it.
Dave, along with his friend and coworker Matteo, a nurse from Saint Mira Hospital Linda, and his ex-girlfriend Katie, quickly realize they are the only ones left alive when people start dying just as they drift off to sleep. They must stay awake by using stimulants and any other means to keep themselves from a fatal slumber.
Out of all the senses or functions humans can temporarily forfeit for survival, sleep is the most dangerous one to mess with. During the course of the show, the viewers are made aware of how long the characters have gone without sleep, from 31 to 42, then 58 to up to 77 hours of no rest. There are also conversations between them of what happens if you don’t sleep for a certain amount of time.
Staying awake past 48 hours causes all kinds of hallucinations, depressive states, horrible thoughts, episodes of psychosis, loss of concentration, and distressed, irritable behaviors.
Anytime past 72 hours, according to Linda in one episode, “makes you miss how you were at 48.”
I greatly encourage you to take a few hours and watch “The Edge of Sleep” on Amazon Prime, and if you don’t have that streaming platform, grab a friend who does and watch it together. Not only does the story reel you in and create that iconic horror movie tension, but it’s written well enough to entertain and frighten you. The cinematography and sound design help in creating an eerie atmosphere with a psychedelic introduction and dream sequences, sense of being completely alone, and foreboding foreshadowing of what’s happening.
My rating is a nine out of ten, but don’t just take my word for it. If psychological, sensory deprivation and survival horror are something you enjoy, this is definitely the show for you.
