Parasomnia, 2025.
Directed by James Ross II.
Starring Jasmine Mathews, RJ Brown, Sally Stewart, Stephen Barrington, Simon Longnight.
SYNOPSIS:
Riley was one of the only survivors of a massacre at a group home when she was fifteen. Now, ten years later, it’s her birthday, and her boyfriend has invited the other survivor of the massacre, David, and his girlfriend over to celebrate. David and his partner are crashing at the house for the night, but Riley has a non-negotiable routine when it comes to sleep, as well as rules, to help prevent her lifelong night terrors. The main rule is that everyone else must fall asleep before her. It isn’t long before that rule is broken, kicking off a string of tragic events and the reveal of many secrets.
Parasomnia starts strong right off the bat with a wild massacre at the group home where Riley and David live. It’s bloody, it’s horrifying, and it sets up everything else to come incredibly well.
Things calm down for a bit after that, as viewers meet the adult versions of Riley and David. Her birthday celebration has its moments that seem a little off, such as when Riley teaches everyone how to make themselves fall asleep instantaneously and mentions her rules about sleep. But it isn’t long before the action ramps back up again, and it never really slows down from there, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.
As much as Parasomnia is about night terrors and trauma, it’s more so about grief and the ways that it can change a person. Riley attends a grief support group (where she meets her boyfriend), and she seems to be doing well with it, but she also never cries. She’s strong and a total badass, but she’s hanging on by the fingernails. She believes that if her control slips even for a second, that’s it. Her boyfriend, Cam, is doing less well with his grief over the murder of his father years ago, which sends him down a path he might not have traveled otherwise. Grief is never-ending, although it changes, and it can take people to some truly horrific places.
Those places are on full display in this movie, although in a literal sense. Riley’s night terrors involve a nightmare about a maze she can’t escape, someone chasing her through it, and people she’s loved who have passed being trapped in cells. This nightmarescape is filmed exceptionally well, with lots of red lighting and burst shots that make things feel disjointed in that way nightmares really are.
These night terrors involve something known as The Seer. While this entity is captured on screen several times, the movie also switches to its point of view a few times throughout. In another fantastic move, the filmmakers portrayed looking through its eyes with a fishbowl shot surrounded by prisms. It worked as a quick way to say, “Hey, this thing is otherworldly,” with the prism effect working exceptionally well for something that supposedly sees everything.
Of course, none of this would have been quite as effective without the absolutely phenomenal performance by Jasmine Mathews as Riley. Mathews walked a fine line between badassness and vulnerability with aplomb. Because of her, the audience will care highly about the stakes involved. RJ Brown as her boyfriend, Cam, did a wonderful job as well. Viewers might even feel kind of sorry for the character by the end, and that was all due to Brown’s ability to be heartbreaking.
Something to be aware of is that there’s a decent amount of gore in this, so those who are squeamish will probably end up having to cover their eyes at some point. None of it is gratuitous, as it’s relevant to the story, but there are a couple of scenes that are difficult to watch because of it. The effects are all really good, though, with none of that fake CGI blood or anything like that.
The story, while coherent, does get a bit convoluted near the end, too. Some characters’ motivations get a bit muddied, and it seems like there might have been an easier, less time-consuming way for the “villain” to achieve their goals.
Parasomnia is genuinely frightening, gory, and tackles grief in a way that makes it stand out from other grief-driven horror. It’s one of the better indie horror movies that have come out this year, and it makes for a fantastic watch.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Misty Layne
