HorRHIFFic 2026: ‘We Put the World to Sleep’ Review
Stars: Adrian Tofei, Duru Yücel, Andreea Enciu, Erisse Peterson, Danha Yunes | Written by Adrian Tofei, Duru Yücel | Directed by Adrian Tofei
The making of an apocalyptic found footage film goes wrong when those behind its creation become lost in their characters and embark upon a secret mission to end the world… but for real.
Perhaps the oddest film you’ll see this year, We Put the World to Sleep comes from the demented creators of Be My Cat: A Film For Anne. Making a film that’s odder than a found footage picture about the stalking of Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway is no mean feat, but it’s one they’ve thoroughly achieved here. Rather than going mainstream with this spiritual sequel (the second in a planned trilogy), director Adrian Țofei goes even harder, and even weirder.
Putting a boot through the fourth wall, his latest work with co-writer and actress Duru Yücel is defiantly subversive, constantly leaving the audience questioning what’s part of the act, and what are the true delusions of a creative mind run amok. Confused yet? You will be, after only a few minutes of this mind-bending mockumentary.
In preparing to make their latest movie, Țofei (playing a fictional version of himself) and Yücel (also as herself) become immersed in their characters to the point where they’re determined to make its apocalyptic fantasy a reality. Quite how that leads to Țofei wearing the used underpants of a real-life serial killer is anyone’s guess, but it’s a trajectory the film makes feel logical, if only in its characters’ heads.
Condensing ten years of production into an 80-minute feature is another unenviable task, and We Put the World to Sleep takes some time to find its feet – to the point where I was genuinely considering whether I had it in me to continue after the opening 20 minutes. Persist, though, and the film finds its rhythm… and, even if it doesn’t, it’ll have you captivated through its creators’ sheer commitment to the bit.
Front and centre for the whole time, Țofei and Yücel give exceptional performances as, uh, Țofei and Yücel. While the ad-libbed style stretches patience at times, it brings with it a heightened sense of unreality which works more in the film’s favour the further down the rabbit hole that the pair fall.
We Put the World to Sleep is a deeply unconventional work by anyone’s standards… and even more so, considering the previous work of those involved.
*** 3/5
We Put the World to Sleep screened at this year’s Romford Horror Film Festival.
