• Release year: 2025
• Director: James Ross II.
• Producers: Gabrielle Chapman and Pacey Hansen.
• Screenplay by: James Ross II.
• Cinematography by: Mark Doerig-Powell and Christopher Lee Fatt.
• Music by: Filius Blue.

Shotgun Commentary: Spooky as hell, perfect to open the Halloween season.

Review

Parasomnia is pretty much what you expect from a horror film with this title. Not to be confused with the 2008 movie of the same title, this new SHUDDER release brings just enough spooks to get you in the mood for October. It is not too much so that newbies to the genre—and those of you who don’t make of Halloween your whole year—can slowly get into the vibe without feeling overwhelmed.

The story follows Riley (Jasmine Mathews). She is a young woman who has been plagued by tragedy since she was 5 years old, when she woke up to find her parents dead with their eyes gouged out. A similar tragedy happened again when she was a teen at the orphanage. As a result, Riley now has a very strict wind-down routine. Before going to bed, she uses pills, eye drops, and all sorts of other remedies to help her achieve a sleep as deep as possible so that she will avoid having night terrors.

Who needs enemies?

Her carefully crafted plan goes out the window during her surprise birthday party. How? Her boyfriend, her childhood friend, and her childhood friend’s girlfriend exert social pressure to convince her to drink late at night to celebrate her birthday. The surprise party not only forces Riley to throw her routine down the drain, but it also low-key forces her to invite her childhood friend and her girlfriend—whom she does not know from Adam—to sleep over at her house. But just in case this was not enough for Riley, childhood best friend David (Stephen Barrington) has the nerve to get upset with her for daring to live in her parents’ home.

Summarising, you invite yourself to a friend’s house, destroy the one important routine in her life, and then get upset with her for not telling you that the house you invited yourself into is actually her biological parents’ home… If that is not a glaring sign that Riley needs new friends, I do not know what is. But fear not, because Riley will also feel the need to apologise to yet another entitled man in her life: her boyfriend.

The genius

The mastermind who decided to throw the birthday party he wanted instead of taking into consideration her feelings and preferences to organise a party that she could actually feel comfortable participating in. She apologises for not wanting to drink, for waking him up, for wanting to keep him safe… Honestly, it gets to a point where you kind of look forward to the night terrors. They feel less horrific than her apologetic wake existence.

All this goes to say that when the monster pops up, sure, you will get scared, but you will not particularly suffer much about the bloodshed. They are likeable, do not get me wrong, but they lack charisma. Their nonsense, while fantastically scarce for a horror movie, is still annoying enough to make their deaths surprisingly not upsetting. Still, the story is quite beautifully told, thanks mostly to its editing. Past, present, reality, and dreams are merged into one big, scary adventure that has just enough mystery to be surprising as well as chilling.

All in all, if you are looking for well-made horror and a solid story, Parasomnia is a good bet. You can find it now in SHUDDER!

Thanks to SHUDDER for access!

Advice to take from this movie:

• It is okay to kick people out of your house.
• It is okay to kick your boyfriend out of your house as well.
• Respect other people’s preferences; there is no need to be an *sshole.

What’s your take? Have you watched Parasomnia? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message on my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀