Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Momo and Okarun share a close moment in Dandadan

    Momo And Okarun: The Gold Standard For Shonen Romance

    07/03/2025
    Ironheart Episodes 4 6 But Why Tho 1

    ‘Ironheart’ Explained: Explore MCU’s Bold New Chapter

    07/01/2025
    Buck in 9-1-1

    ‘9-1-1’ Has To Let Buck Say Bisexual

    06/29/2025
    Nintendo Welcome Tour promotional image of the maraca mini-game

    The One “Game” That Justifies The Nintendo Switch 2 Purchase

    06/25/2025
    Destiel Confession in Supernatural - Castiel (Misha Collins) and Dean (Jensen Ackles)

    The Destiel Confession: The Lasting Importance Of Supernatural’s Greatest Ship

    06/22/2025
  • Squid Game
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Switch 2 Games
  • Summer Game Fest
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » REVIEW: ‘Deep’ Brings A Slow-Moving Story With Little Payoff

REVIEW: ‘Deep’ Brings A Slow-Moving Story With Little Payoff

Charles HartfordBy Charles Hartford07/16/20214 Mins Read
Deep
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Deep

Deep is a Thai suspense movie streaming on Netflix starring Panisara Rikulsurakan. Jane is a promising medical student who often goes without sleep. This works out for her since—between med school, taking care of her grandma, and looking out for her sister—she can’t really spare the time. But when she is pointed toward a research experiment that looks to harvest chemicals from people in a sleep-deprived state and offers a hefty cash reward for doing so, it seems like the perfect fit to help Jane get her family out of debt. But there’s a catch. If the subject falls asleep for more than one minute during the experiment, the implant gathering the chemical will short out, killing the subject.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Deep tries to hang its sleep-deprived narrative on the two big pillars of suspense and the investment the cast’s personality draws from the viewer. While there are flashes of promise from both aspects of this nearly two-hour story, it ultimately fails to deliver on either to the extent that it feels so close to reaching. What goes wrong with these focuses? Well, to start, let’s talk about the characters.

The movie is built primarily around Jane (Rikulsurakan) and three other students who all enroll in the sleep deprivation study called Deep. The program has three different levels to it that require an increasing length of time to stay awake. But with each one comes a larger reward, with level three paying out one million baht. While the four students manage level one without a hitch, level two becomes a much rockier ride. With their struggles to stay awake increasing, the quartet turn to ever more drastic measures to stay awake and alive. It is in this second phase of the story that the personalities present in Deep start to fall apart.

When introduced, each character is presented as a pleasant enough personality, with each possessing their own quirks and foibles. There is the party boy, the female influencer who doesn’t want to be at med school but is forced by her parents, and the socially awkward guy who plays video games all day.

As one would expect, the increasing levels of sleep deprivation begin to affect the group in numerous ways. Some act oddly, some become more honest about who they really are, and some notice things around them they never had before. These personality changes come to reveal some big things about certain members of the group. And while these revelations are given their due in the moment, they are all-too-quickly swept under the rug as the plot moves forward. While I appreciate the story’s desire to create additional tension between its characters, if a plot point isn’t going to matter more than five minutes after its reveal, the story will probably be better off without it rather than casting the characters in a worse light without anything coming of it.

With the characters largely failing due to a lack of commitment to the story’s plot points, the same can be said for the suspense. While Deep does provide occasional moments of uncertainty, the film never manages to fully deliver on the tension it tries to build. This is in large part due to the lack of punch in the finale.

Most suspense features reach a point in the third act where everything unravels and chaos ensues. While the situation does come unglued at the appropriate time, the movie never allows the full chaos to bring the panic that might’ve made this movie’s build-up successful. Instead, once the situation is broken open it simply settles on delivering a few more unsettling moments, and then it wraps. While these moments are well executed by themselves, they don’t work as a final payoff.

Much like the previous elements spoken about here, Deep‘s visual presentation fails to deliver that final push that is needed to take it the distance. While the camera work, lighting, and music all work to establish the opening tones of a good suspense piece, they fail to push the energy of the film past the initial levels of unsettling.

Perhaps the strongest aspect of the film is the acting. I felt cast in its entirety delivers their roles well. The presentation of the core four feels believable for the majority of the movie, and the sinister doctor who administers the procedure is absolutely unsettling.

So, when all is said and done, Deep delivers an interesting tale that builds up some strong moments of suspense, but never really manages to follow through with an adequate payoff for its work.

Deep is streaming now on Netflix.

Deep
6/10

TL;DR

So, when all is said and done, Deep delivers an interesting tale that builds up some strong moments of suspense, but never really manages to follow through with an adequate payoff for its work.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘Escape Room: Tournament of Champions’ Ups the Ante
Next Article What Comics to Read: DC Comics July 13th
Charles Hartford
  • X (Twitter)

Lifelong geek who enjoys comics, video games, movies, reading and board games . Over the past year I’ve taken a more active interest in artistic pursuits including digital painting, and now writing. I look forward to growing as a writer and bettering my craft in my time here!

Related Posts

The Old Guard 2
5.5

REVIEW: ‘The Old Guard 2’ Is Distracted And Half-Baked

07/02/2025
Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey in Jurassic World: Rebirth
5.5

REVIEW: ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth’ Is Best When Nobody Is Talking

06/30/2025
MEGAN 2.0 promotional image
7.0

REVIEW: ‘M3GAN 2.0’ Puts Action First

06/29/2025
F1 (2025) promotional key art
8.0

REVIEW: ‘F1’ Is A High-Octane Blockbuster

06/24/2025
KPop Demon Hunters Promotional image form Netflix
9.0

REVIEW: ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Brings Beautiful Animation And An Even Better Message

06/20/2025
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams in 28 Years Later
8.5

REVIEW: ’28 Years Later’ Is How Franchises Should Return

06/18/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Taecyeon and Seohyun in The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8
7.5
TV

REVIEW: ‘The First Night With The Duke’ Episodes 7-8

By Sarah Musnicky07/03/2025

The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8 spends welcome time in pre-domestic bliss before new developments stir up trouble.

Together (2025) still from Sundance
8.0
Film

REVIEW: Have A Grossly Good Time ‘Together’

By Kate Sánchez01/27/2025Updated:07/04/2025

Dave Franco and Alison Brie’s Together (2025) is disgustingly funny, genuinely ugly, and just a good time at the movies.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and 4 Alcatraz
9.0
PS5

REVIEW: ‘Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4’ Gives Old Games New Life

By Kyle Foley07/07/2025

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4 is another example of how to breathe new life into a classic without losing touch of what makes the originals great.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here