Henri Le Rennet At first glance the movie might seem like its using clichéd motifs & themes, like "boy meets girl" and "the intelligent serial killer". In fact it uses these to create something new. But in order to appreciate it one has to to know a little horror and to think a little for oneself - not much, no riddles here, its just that unless you've seen a lot of horror movies and read horror literature, you will probably not see whats new here. So, what is new, you might ask. Well, for instance: a serial killer who is in fact a mesmerizer, which together with the focus on dolls and automatons puts us back to the early 19th century, with stories such as "Der Sandmann" by Hoffmann.This is not a movie for the viewer whose experience in horror movies only encompasses the new sequel to "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", "Paranormal Activity" etc, and feels violated when a movie doesn't explain everything at all time (not that there's any riddles here), and, on top of it, if one dislike movies that don't actively grab the viewer by the collar, making up for his/her innate lack of engagement, then one is bound to be disappointed in this movie. Which is a good thing since mainstream movies that fulfill these criteria will never last especially long.This is an intelligent, Gothic, movie, for the connoisseur. :-)

peace-of-mind this is my first review but I decided to review this title because I had a real appreciation for this film. I randomly found this title and decided to check it out ... I was quiet surprised. This is quiet a beautiful film, the story line, the graphics, its all very well put together. The acting is pretty good I will give it a 7/10 there are a few plot holes but it isn't really noticeable,This is probably the best film yet by William Malone, he has come a long way from the failed feardotcom. The film itself is really enjoyable to watch, the gore is minimal, and it keeps your attention. I would suggest this for a rainy night in

Paul Andrews Parasomnia starts as record store clerk Danny Sloan (Dylan Purcell) visits his friend Billy Dornboss (Dov Tiefenbach) at drug rehab, while there Danny has a walk down to the psychiatric ward & sees notorious serial killer Byron Volpe (Patrick Kilpatrick) who uses an intense form of hypnotism to kill. In the room next door sees a young beautiful woman named Laura Baxter (Cherilyn Wilson) who suffers from parasomnia which is a very rare condition in which she spends most of the time asleep & is only awake for a few minutes at a time, Danny becomes fascinated & enchanted with Laura & when he finds out that she is going to be experimented on Danny kidnaps her. Meanwhile serial killer Volpe had a psychic connection with Laura & could manipulate her dreams & thoughts, angry that Danny has taken her Volpe escapes & hunts them down as the bodies pile up Danny & Laura find themselves running from a serial killer & the police...Written & directed by William Malone who also apparently financed the whole project himself this part horror, part thriller part romantic comedy which could be described as a dark fairy tale is a really good film & just stops short of being an excellent one, I personally think there's lots here to admire & like. The romantic side of the plot with Danny falling for Laura who has this rare condition in which she spends most of her time asleep is cute & could have been turned into a neat little Rom Com on it's own, the idea is charming & certainly grabs you & the concept manages to create a lot of sympathy for the two character's & as it builds up during the film it makes the rather sad ending quite heartfelt. Parasomnia starts off quite strikingly with a woman receiving a phone call & then jumping off a building to her death as the camera follows her down & there's lots of little touches & moments that stick in the mind, the gruesome climax played out to classical music or the dreams that Laura has & Volpe invades to some amusing & sometimes dramatic moments when Laura suddenly falls asleep. The film lasts for 100 odd minutes but it takes time build the story & character's up to really good effect which ultimately makes the film so much more rewarding in the end. An often engrossing film & one that feels refreshing original & different to the mundane slashers & faceless clones that litter the horror genre, my only problems are that Danny falls in love with Laura too quickly (he only sees her lying in bed for a few minutes & then suddenly he loves her? He'd never even spoken to her) & just how easy it was for Danny to simply walk out of a maximum security hospital ward (it did have a serial killer there) but these are minor complaints to what is otherwise a really good film & one of the best original horror films I've seen in the recent past.Parasomnia is very artistic & stylish too, the general look of the film felt to me like a detective noir thriller with not much colour to the picture &the overall look just felt a little period. There are plenty of striking images throughout & it's a dark, atmospheric & often twisted tale of love between two people which at it's core is what Parasomnia is all about. Maybe not as gory or bloody as some may like there's still a couple of gory bits as someone is stabbed in the stomach & his guts start to fall out, someone is stabbed in the eyes with syringes & there's a gory slashed throat. While definitely original there are recognisable influences here from A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) with a sadistic killer entering dreams along with The Silence of the Lambs (1991) with that mask & a serial killer who talks in eloquent quotes & riddles are two that spring to mind.Filmed in Los Angeles this looks great with memorable production design, good special effects & great choice & usage of music. There is some good acting here from a good cast including Timothy Bottoms, the always watchable Jeffrey Combs & an intense performance from Patrick Kilpatrick as the bad guy.Parasomnia is a great twisted little dark fairy tale about love, I will stop just short of calling it excellent as I am not sure if I would want to see it again anytime soon but if your looking for something original & striking then Parasomnia is well worth watching. I was impressed & Parasomnia is one of the better indie horror films I have seen.

homecoming8 Parasomnia has an interesting premises, but the story is poorly done without any tension or even a logical approach. The cast in unconvincing, even Patrick Kilpatrick, who played great roles in movies like Scanner Cop 2, Open Fire, Under Siege 2 and Eraser. The rest of the cast is unknown (and not very good) with the exception of Jeffrey Combs. (Herbert West from the great Re-Animator trilogy). But he can play roles like this in his sleep (which is a little what he does here). The main problem is that the actions of the characters make no sense at all. The story is rather dull and predictable with cheap computer effects mixed with some gory scenes, especially at the end.This could have been so much better, I do not get the good reviews on this one. It is below average really.