Parasomnia review
A Shudder Original that does something original in its own right.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Parasomnia
Directed by James Ross II
Written by James Ross II
Starring Jasmine Mathews and RJ Brown
Parasomnia Review
Another week, another Shudder Original/Exclusive to review. That isn’t a complaint, mind you. We love the horror streaming platforms’ newfound commitment to releasing fresh content. Parasomnia is the latest in a string of releases that doesn’t show any signs of slowing down as we enter spooky season. While we’re still waiting for Shudder to hit that big homerun as it has so often in the past…Parasomnia is another worthwhile watch you can only find on the service.
Riley (Jasmine Mathews) has a sleep problem. Well…everyone around her might have the real problem. Her “sleep episodes” tend to leave the people around her dead. We see the results of this in Parasomnia’s opening scene. Flash forward ten years…and Riley believes she has things under control. She’s developed a system that allows her to keep things in check and everyone around her safe. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be holding up very well as her birthday approaches. There’s more to her dreams than meets the eye…and more to Parasomnia as well.
The movie takes some time to introduce us to what Riley is going through. There’s a tragic family backstory, the opening incident and the cracks forming during her birthday celebration that show us what happens to those around her and give us a glimpse of what happens in her dreams. We’ll learn more about the latter in Parasomnia’s second half. After the story takes an unexpected turn.
It’s that turn that makes Parasomnia an interesting watch. Things are going pretty good before that…there’s some lightly spooky moments and some very visceral danger. But the story definitely reaches a point where you start to wonder if its tricks can maintain a full length feature film. Writer/director James Ross II already thought that through. He sets up little clues and moments to pay off after the story changes shape. It retains the danger and overall concept of Riley’s dreams…but it uses them in new and more interesting ways. Parasomnia hasn’t just created a quick lore to get itself through one person’s story. It drops us, and Riley, in the middle of someone else’s.
It’s a clever way to breathe life into the concept. Especially given Parasomnia’s small cast. I was never really worried about the movie running out of ideas…but I was concerned about it running out of people to do them to. Riley’s circle only extends to about three other people. Cam (RJ Brown) her understanding boyfriend who does his best to stay out of the way of her “system” while offering support. David (Stephen Barrington), who saw first-hand what Riley’s dreams can do back in the group home the film’s opening scene takes place in. And David’s girlfriend (Danny Brown) who doesn’t know what’s going on but is always down for a good time. Of course, she’s found herself in a very bad one.
The moment Parasomnia shifts from being a slow burn nightmares affecting the real world scenario to what it inevitably becomes is an effective one. We see some things from the first part of the story with a new understanding…and learn a lot more about what Riley is dealing with…and who else that it might be important to. It feels like an earned twist because it plays out like a well thought out one. We may be watching Riley’s story…complete with a title card that labels it as such…but we’ve always been in someone else’s. What could have been a basic “nightmares are dangerous story” becomes something a bit different while adhering to the lore and concepts that it established. Which is a pretty cool way to use them.
Scare Value
Parasomnia may not be the homerun Shudder has been flirting with hitting in 2026…but it is an interesting piece of business. Before its nightmare premise can wear out its welcome it shifts gears and heads in a new direction. It doesn’t betray what it sets up before that…instead it shifts POV to recontextualize what we’ve seen and push forward on a different path. The cast does a strong job with material that could have come off as somewhat hokey on first blush…but would have felt earned and believable by the end anyway. That’s one of the strengths of Parasomnia. It’s all been thought through.
3/5
Parasomnia Link
Streaming on Shudder
