I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with writer-director James Ross II and star Jasmine Mathews to dissect Parasomnia, after giving it a spoiler-free rave review. This film made one hell of a feature directorial debut for Ross and personally cost me a night’s sleep.
Mathews delivers a powerhouse lead performance as Riley. She’s a young woman burdened by tragic history and crippled by severe night terrors. When her best friend mysteriously vanishes, the fragile boundary between Riley’s dreams and waking reality completely dissolves. This forces her to face a harrowing truth: the malicious entity tormenting her sleep has crossed over into the real world.
A Personal Nightmare Bleeding Into Reality
The film also stars a phenomenal ensemble cast—RJ Brown, Sally Stewart, Stephen Barrington, Danny Brown, and Simon Longnight.
Parasomnia manages to do something increasingly rare in modern horror. It breathes terrifyingly fresh life into the supernatural nightmare subgenre.
As someone who has spent most of my life battling real-world Parasomnia and sleepwalking, this movie didn’t just entertain me; it crawled directly under my skin and set up camp. But that’s not all. I happened to watch the film, set on Riley’s birthday, on my birthday. But you can hear us dive much deeper into those sleep-deprived traumas in our full video interview below!
What is Parasomnia?
Parasomnia is an umbrella medical term for a category of sleep disorders characterized by abnormal behaviors, movements, emotions, perceptions, or dreams that occur while falling asleep, during sleep, or upon waking.
Instead of resting quietly, a person experiencing a parasomnia remains in a state of partial arousal where the brain is stuck between consciousness and sleep.
Stream It on Shudder This September
Whether you are a lifelong insomniac or just a horror fanatic craving a smart, unpredictable chiller, Parasomnia demands a spot on your watchlist.
As I noted in my rave review, it is a masterclass in psychological dread that will leave you double-checking the shadows in your bedroom. Luckily, you won’t have to wait long to experience the nightmare for yourself. Parasomnia arrives exclusively on Shudder on September 4.
Check out our full spoiler-free interview with James Ross II and Jasmine Mathews below, and be sure to follow them both on social media to keep up with their projects. You’re going to want to keep an eye on them; they both have a bright future in cinema.
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