''Dead Asleep'' is a 2021 American
documentary
A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
true crime
True crime is a genre of non-fiction work in which an author examines a crime, including detailing the actions of people associated with and affected by the crime, and investigating the perpetrator's Motive (law), motives. True crime works often ...
film produced for
Hulu
Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...
by Pulse Films. The film was directed by American documentarian
Skye Borgman
Skye Borgman is an American film director and cinematographer. She is best known for her work on the documentary film ''Abducted in Plain Sight''.
Life and career
Skye was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon. She was graduated from the Cornish Colleg ...
.
Content
''Dead Asleep'' follows the case of Randy Herman Jr., who was convicted in 2019 of murdering his childhood friend and roommate Brooke Preston. The documentary investigates Herman's claim that he was
sleepwalking
Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during the slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of ...
during the murder and therefore innocent.
Criticism
On November 29, 2021, Brooke's sister Jordan uploaded a video to
TikTok
TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...
in which she stated that ''Dead Asleep'' and Hulu were forcing her and her family to relive the worst days of their lives. The Preston family refused to be interviewed for, participate in, or give consent to the making of the documentary.
The film has been criticized by Brooke's family and friends for being biased in favor of Herman. As of January 5, 2022, over 100,000 have signed a petition demanding Hulu remove the film from streaming.
Critic Natalia Keogan of ''
Paste
Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to:
Science and technology
* Adhesive or paste
** Wallpaper paste
** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water
* Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...
'' magazine further criticized the film as part of a cheap and profitable buy in by Hulu into the true crime genre, citing the "incessant churning out of half-baked documentaries that serve little purpose outside of boasting exclusive access to the families of perpetrators and victims alike." She further noted that "''Dead Asleep'' offers absolutely no resolution—it’s up to the viewer to discern whether or not they buy Herman’s story—an irresponsible way of framing the case, as it omits the perspective of Brooke’s family entirely."
See also
*
True crime § Criticism
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, tt15185642
2021 films
2021 documentary films
American documentary films
Documentary films about crime in the United States
2020s American films