The greatest movie ever!

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

I am not an expert, but I have heard of Narkolepsy. So while this is something real, the movie still has more of a "dream quality" to is (no pun intended). But even taking that under consideration, it's a shame that not more could have been done with the idea at hand here, which ultimately must have been the directors fault.The actors are borderline OK, most of the time, though they are not really convincing. The best one of the bunch (Kilpatrick) unfortunately only getting little screen time. One scene between him and Combs was the best the movie had to offer. But too little too late it was by the point the scene took place.And while we have a wonderful cameo (they have John Landis in there, how did they manage that? OK they called him, but still? The audio commentary wasn't really helpful, just thanking Landis for doing the small bit/part) the characters are dreadful. Their actions are not comprehensible, like talking about something, does not mean it exists, like a feeling -> "I hate/love you" is easily said, but I couldn't say it was delivered in a probable manner or was convincing in any sort of way.A friend of mine, who watched it too, liked it a bit more than me. And it is shot in a nice fashion, I'll admit that. But the script and the characters could've done with as much care as some of the visuals got ...

OK so the movie does not have a high budget. The acting from the two younger leads is mediocre at best. But the psycho killer character and the unusual production style are what keep the momentum and interest in this movie going. I found elements of "The Cell", "Silence of the Lambs", and "Saw" all wrapped in one. The quirky style of many scenes in the movie has elements of Tim Burton and "Puppet Master". The creepy and astounding score also lend major points to an otherwise average horror thriller story. The movie was genuinely creepy and somewhat scary at several moments, but scary in a suspenseful way and not so much a frightening way. With the slew of horrible horror movies, high budgets and low, this one definitely stands out as above average and unique in it's own way. If you can get past the amateurish acting of the two young leads and the low budget aspects of the film that are apparent here and there, you will find a fantastic and gripping horror movie.

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.

I watched this movie after seeing other comments on IMDb, even convincing my wife that it was a "unique horror movie." I wanted to like this movie, but was unable to.The "love story" was good, but the horror aspect was quite bad. If the story was just about a young man who fell in love with a girl suffering from parasomnia, then it would have been a better movie.The care centre stretched credulity well past the limits, in fact it was quite ridiculous. The doctor happily ignors privacy laws and professionalism. A nurse goes into a room for a routine feeding of a dangerous patient (without security escort), and drops the tray and runs out of the room screaming for no apparent reason. The forensic patient (and the film's villain) is tied up in a standing position fully clothed - apparently for years? None of it makes much sense.The movie even had some actors that I've liked in other things, such as the detectives, but still I can't recommend this movie.