Parasomnia (2025) Review

Parasomnia (2025) premiered at FrightFest London on Friday, August 22nd at the ODEON Luxe West End. This heart-pounding paranormal thriller is not one to miss. With stellar performances, plenty of scares, and an engaging story, Parasomnia is a true indie horror gem.

Riley (Jasmine Matthews) is a young woman who has suffered from night terrors that are believed to be the result of the tragic demise of her parents. When a similar fate befalls her foster sister and mother, Riley develops an obsession with controlling her sleep. Eventually, her routine falls into place, and she is living a seemingly normal life until her friends start to disappear. Riley delves deeper into her nightmares and past trauma to confront the evil that has been following her for all these years.

Writer and director James Ross II breathes new life into the idea of nightmares coming to life. The story of Riley feels vaguely familiar but also totally new, hooking you in from the first scene. While I did pick up on some similarities to popular horror content like dark maze games and hints of folk horror, Ross stayed true to his unique vision enough to keep everything grounded in its own story.

Another highlight of this film is the incredible performances. This small but mighty cast carried every psychological twist of this plot with ease. Watching Riley (Matthews) and Cam’s (RJ Brown) strong relationship violently slip into darkness was gut-wrenching. Matthews’ Reily is a perfect, modernized final girl. She is intelligent, proactive, and strong, grappling with the heavy emotional weight of grief while making every attempt to unveil the truth and rid herself of this evil. I also loved Sally Stewart’s portrayal of a calculated, dominating mother with ulterior motives. Her performance added such emotional depth and was integral in making the movie engaging until the very end. Altogether, this small cast made it easy for the audience to slip into Ross’ story and feel every scare along with them.

The intrigue of the night terrors, treachery, and demonic lore are neatly paced in between hair-raising chase scenes and well-executed jump scares. While some of the nightmare maze scenes felt a little repetitive, the slow, anxiety-inducing scenes when the demon is in our reality kept my heart racing. As for special effects, there are plenty of eye trauma scenes that would satisfy the Fulci fans, along with some intense sound design to deepen the squirm. The demonic creature had a couple of variations in style that were most apparent in close-up shots. While each one was frightening, it was confusing as to why these different looks existed and didn’t seem necessary.

Parasomnia is writer/director Ross’s feature debut, so in the FrightFest tradition of giving a platform to emerging horror filmmakers, be sure to catch watch this film as soon as you can!

Movie Rating:

Parasomnia trailer