{"id":2125598,"date":"2026-09-02T14:00:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T11:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2125598"},"modified":"2026-09-02T14:00:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T11:00:39","slug":"nightmares-come-to-life-in-the-convoluted-but-oddly-compelling-parasomnia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2125598","title":{"rendered":"Nightmares Come to Life in the Convoluted but Oddly Compelling \u2018Parasomnia\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PARASOMNIA-Riley-review-1200×675.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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Monsters creeping out of dreams and causing terror in the real world is not a new idea\u2014even Freddy Krueger wasn\u2019t the first to do it, though the Nightmare on Elm Street<\/em> movies are still one of the trope\u2019s greatest examples. New indie horror film Parasomnia<\/em> digs into the idea with determination, and while all the pieces don\u2019t quite fit together, there\u2019s enough ghastly dread involved to make the film worth seeking out.<\/p>\n

Parasomnia<\/em>\u2019s main character, Riley (The Tomorrow War<\/em>\u2019s Jasmine Mathews), has figured out a way to ward off the deeply disturbing night terrors she\u2019s had since childhood\u2014or so she thinks. It involves an extremely regimented bedtime routine of supplements, eye drops, avoiding alcohol, and so on, with the added paranoia of insisting everyone under the same roof dozes off before she does.<\/p>\n

She also has the ability to make herself fall asleep almost instantly. It\u2019s something her friends treat as a party trick, not realizing that Riley\u2019s circadian rhythm has the potential to be weaponized. But we have a pretty good idea of how inadvertently dangerous she is, thanks to Parasomnia<\/em>\u2019s opening flashback. It takes us back a decade to see a teenage Riley slumbering through a vicious attack on the group home where she\u2019s been living since her parents perished in an equally awful act of violence.<\/p>\n

\"Parasomnia
\u00a9 Shudder<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Coincidence, or is something supernatural afoot? Considering Riley\u2019s foster brother David witnesses their seemingly possessed guardian chomping on human eyeballs, the latter seems entirely likely. But neither Riley nor David (played by the charismatic Stephen Barrington as an adult) really wants to believe that could be true\u2014until they meet again in the present day and Riley\u2019s strange affliction returns.<\/p>\n

The less said about Parasomnia<\/em>\u2019s narrative, the better to avoid spoilers; though certain things feel very familiar about Riley\u2019s torment, including a sequence where she becomes determined to stay awake in true Nancy Thompson style, writer-director James Ross II whips out some surprising twists as the story progresses.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, his script also makes some heavy-handed choices. For example, when a character makes a very specific remark early on about how they simply cannot<\/em> cry, you just know that will come back around eventually. Parasomnia<\/em> also exerts a lot of energy trying to detail exactly who is haunting Riley and why, with a character who drops in mostly to deliver rapid-fire exposition that feels needlessly complicated. You have to wonder: why go to the trouble to cram in all that lore if it\u2019s too convoluted for the audience to keep up with?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s frustrating, because Parasomnia<\/em> has plenty of spooky atmosphere and effective jump scares going for it. The performances are also well-directed, with Mathews\u2019 fed-up, guilt-ridden protagonist a standout. Riley\u2019s dreams take her to a creepy maze of basement rooms that evoke the last moments of the Blair Witch Project<\/em>, an effect enhanced by the POV shots that accompany her freaked-out journeys across that realm.<\/p>\n

\"Parasomnia
\u00a9 Shudder<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Also, the eyeball-chomping we mentioned earlier? It becomes a theme. Many<\/em> eyeballs are devoured, and it doesn\u2019t get more delightfully, squeamishly nightmarish than that. There\u2019s promise here, but with a more streamlined story to back it up, Parasomnia<\/em>\u2019s horror would have been even more potent.<\/p>\n

Parasomnia<\/em> arrives on Shudder starting September 4.<\/p>\n

\n

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what\u2019s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

\n

Monsters creeping out of dreams and causing terror in the real world is not a new idea\u2014even Freddy Krueger wasn\u2019t the first to do it, though the Nightmare on Elm Street<\/em> movies are still one of the trope\u2019s greatest examples. New indie horror film Parasomnia<\/em> digs into the idea with determination, and while all the pieces don\u2019t quite fit together, there\u2019s enough ghastly dread involved to make the film worth seeking out.<\/p>\n

Parasomnia<\/em>\u2019s main character, Riley (The Tomorrow War<\/em>\u2019s Jasmine Mathews), has figured out a way to ward off the deeply disturbing night terrors she\u2019s had since childhood\u2014or so she thinks. It involves an extremely regimented bedtime routine of supplements, eye drops, avoiding alcohol, and so on, with the added paranoia of insisting everyone under the same roof dozes off before she does.<\/p>\n

She also has the ability to make herself fall asleep almost instantly. It\u2019s something her friends treat as a party trick, not realizing that Riley\u2019s circadian rhythm has the potential to be weaponized. But we have a pretty good idea of how inadvertently dangerous she is, thanks to Parasomnia<\/em>\u2019s opening flashback. It takes us back a decade to see a teenage Riley slumbering through a vicious attack on the group home where she\u2019s been living since her parents perished in an equally awful act of violence.<\/p>\n

\"Parasomnia
\u00a9 Shudder<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Coincidence, or is something supernatural afoot? Considering Riley\u2019s foster brother David witnesses their seemingly possessed guardian chomping on human eyeballs, the latter seems entirely likely. But neither Riley nor David (played by the charismatic Stephen Barrington as an adult) really wants to believe that could be true\u2014until they meet again in the present day and Riley\u2019s strange affliction returns.<\/p>\n

The less said about Parasomnia<\/em>\u2019s narrative, the better to avoid spoilers; though certain things feel very familiar about Riley\u2019s torment, including a sequence where she becomes determined to stay awake in true Nancy Thompson style, writer-director James Ross II whips out some surprising twists as the story progresses.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, his script also makes some heavy-handed choices. For example, when a character makes a very specific remark early on about how they simply cannot<\/em> cry, you just know that will come back around eventually. Parasomnia<\/em> also exerts a lot of energy trying to detail exactly who is haunting Riley and why, with a character who drops in mostly to deliver rapid-fire exposition that feels needlessly complicated. You have to wonder: why go to the trouble to cram in all that lore if it\u2019s too convoluted for the audience to keep up with?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s frustrating, because Parasomnia<\/em> has plenty of spooky atmosphere and effective jump scares going for it. The performances are also well-directed, with Mathews\u2019 fed-up, guilt-ridden protagonist a standout. Riley\u2019s dreams take her to a creepy maze of basement rooms that evoke the last moments of the Blair Witch Project<\/em>, an effect enhanced by the POV shots that accompany her freaked-out journeys across that realm.<\/p>\n

\"Parasomnia
\u00a9 Shudder<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Also, the eyeball-chomping we mentioned earlier? It becomes a theme. Many<\/em> eyeballs are devoured, and it doesn\u2019t get more delightfully, squeamishly nightmarish than that. There\u2019s promise here, but with a more streamlined story to back it up, Parasomnia<\/em>\u2019s horror would have been even more potent.<\/p>\n

Parasomnia<\/em> arrives on Shudder starting September 4.<\/p>\n

\n

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what\u2019s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PARASOMNIA-Riley-review-1200×675.jpg”] Monsters creeping out of dreams and causing terror in the real world is not a new idea\u2014even Freddy Krueger wasn\u2019t the first to do it, though the Nightmare on Elm Street movies are still one of the trope\u2019s greatest examples. New indie horror film Parasomnia digs into the idea with determination, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,53],"class_list":["post-2125598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-gizmodo-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2125598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2125598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2125598\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2125598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2125598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2125598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}