You’ve gotta give it up to director William Malone – the helmer of 1999's gory House on Haunted Hill remake and the universally reviled 2002's FeardotCom has conjured up something of an original idea for his new film Parasomnia. Parasomnia is the story of Laura Baxter (Cherilyn Wilson), who suffers from a rare form of parasomnia that leaves her asleep for the majority of her life. She is physically capable and generally healthy but tragically rendered comatose for days and months at a time.
Kept in a hospital bed and fed intravenously on a regular basis, Laura seems doomed to this existence until Danny Sloan (Dylan Purcell) stumbles across her room while visiting a friend in rehab. Danny is taken with Laura almost immediately and strives to find out more about her. Coincidentally, in the room next to Laura, serial killer and master hypnotist Byron Volpe (Patrick Kilpatrick - best name ever?) hangs in the air, restrained by ropes and fitted with a bag on his head. We learn that Volpe can control people’s minds (convenient) and caused a great number of people to kill themselves. He is also soft-spoken and well read, joining the collection of post-Silence of the Lambs erudite slayers.
On with the set-up – when Danny learns that Laura will be taken from the hospital for experimentation, he kidnaps her, much to Volpe’s discontent. Now, with the two on the run and a romance slowly blooming between them, Volpe strikes at Laura the only place he can: in the her dreams. As Danny struggles to take care of this unusual woman, Laura battles Volpe in a surrealistic dream landscape that is one of the major selling points of the film.
One thing to be said about Parasomnia is that it’s most definitely a well-thought-out film, juggling drama, comedy, romance and of course horror with enough skill to commend Mr. Malone, who also wrote the script. The relationship between Laura and Danny is handled elegantly, even if Danny comes across as a bit of an airhead who has a habit of abandoning Laura after she is possessed by Volpe (I won’t spoil what happens then). Cherylin Wilson brings an innocence and complexity to Laura that sells her re-introduction to the waking world. Kilpatrick is serviceable as Volpe but not particularly threatening, too eloquent and soft-voiced to come across as much of a threat.
In truth, Parasomnia is rarely even startling but it is always resourceful and interesting to watch, particularly the dream sequences. Designed economically but not sparingly, our trips inside Laura’s mind under control of Volpe are surrealistic landscapes most reminiscent of a low-budget The Cell – detailed and inventive. The film, while very apparently shot on a limited budget, doesn’t skimp on smooth camera moves and stylistic lightning. The actors sell an outlandish but clever story and everyone seems invested in seeing the film through. Particularly excellent is the score, by Nicholas Pike, hitting all the right notes without coming across as too telling. The finale, as well, makes the wait worthwhile, finally paying off on the surrealist touches by becoming a brief by massive show orchestrated by a collection of Volpe’s puppets. Overall, Parasomnia comes strongly recommended for its visuals and the care brought to a small-budget production.
DVD Bonus Features
For a horror film, the extras are robust, featuring a 13-minute "making of" that delves into a variety of aspects on this independently financed feature, including the green screen shoot that forms the bulk of the dream world in the film. Malone also provides a full commentary, an insightful listen on how the film was made and financed as well as the creative process of writing the screenplay. Also included are interviews with cast and crew, though they are very brief. Several deleted scenes including an alternate beginning are included, as well as a trailer for the film, a stills gallery and a music video that meshes the film’s images with music by The Plagues.
"Parasomnia" is on sale July 13, 2010 and is rated R. Drama, Horror, Indie, Thriller. Written and directed by William Malone. Starring Cherilyn Wilson, Dylan Purcell, Patrick Kilpatrick.
