Editorial · Article
Parasomnia (2026) Review: Our Scores and the Jump Scare Times
Streaming on Shudder since September 4, 2026 · James Ross II's feature debut · Jasmine Mathews
By Alan Willey · · Updated
Parasomnia is streaming exclusively on Shudder. It premiered on Friday, September 4, 2026. It is the feature debut of writer-director James Ross II. Jasmine Mathews plays Riley, a young woman tormented by night terrors and an unresolved tragedy in her past. When her best friend goes missing, she begins to suspect that the demonic figure in her sleep has crossed over into the real world.
The film is not new to festival audiences. It premiered at FrightFest in London on August 22, 2025, played the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival that October, and screened at the Overlook Film Festival in April 2026. Shudder acquired it ahead of the Overlook screening, and its September 4 premiere opened the streamer's Season of Screams programming, announced August 19, 2026.
Both of our curators have now watched it and scored it on all five axes. It holds a Darkly Score of 6.9, and we counted eleven jump scares first-hand, with times.
Release Date & Where to Watch
Parasomnia is streaming on Shudder as a Shudder exclusive. It was released on September 4, 2026. No US theatrical run, digital rental date or physical release has been announced.
The date is the opening slot of Shudder's Season of Screams, the four-month programming block the streamer announced on August 19, 2026, which runs weekly premieres from September through December.
Some listings date the film differently. IMDb, Letterboxd and TMDB all carry it as a 2025 film, dated from its festival premiere at FrightFest London on August 22, 2025, and TMDB holds a US entry of October 21, 2025, from its festival run. Those screenings were festivals. September 4, 2026 is the first date the film is available to watch at home.
This page and the film page will be updated if a digital or physical release is announced.
The film, and the people who made it
Parasomnia is written and directed by James Ross II, and it is his first feature. Jasmine Mathews leads as Riley, with RJ Brown as Cam, Sally Stewart as Mama, Stephen Barrington as David, and Simon Longnight as The Seer. The runtime is 85 minutes.
The night terror sequences are the film's calling card. They play out in the first person, from inside Riley's episodes, with the demonic figure surfacing in frame the way it would in a sleep paralysis account, set against conventionally shot waking scenes. That is a point-of-view technique rather than found footage, since no camera inside the story is doing the recording. Dread Central's review from Brooklyn Horror rated it 4 out of 5, called the supporting cast natural and engaging, and framed the film as a debut that announces a director.
The film spent a full year on the festival circuit before Shudder picked it up: FrightFest London in August 2025, Brooklyn Horror in October 2025, then the Overlook Film Festival in New Orleans in April 2026. Shudder announced the acquisition ahead of the Overlook screening, alongside Goody Goody and New Group.
Is Parasomnia scary?
It is moderately scary, and its five-axis profile is unusually flat. Both of our curators watched it and scored it, so every number below is a two-person average rather than one person's read.
Fear lands at 6.0 out of 10, level with The Shining and the original Friday the 13th, and well under Insidious at 8.0. Gore is 6.5, level with The Silence of the Lambs. Atmosphere is 6.8, Intensity is 6.5, and the Overall Darkly Score is 6.9. No axis runs away from the others, which is a fair description of the film itself: it works on several fronts at once and leads with none of them. The full profile is on the film page.
Where the two curators split was fear, 5.0 against 6.9. That is a wider gap than we usually record between them, and it is the axis to weigh if you are deciding on a night.
We counted eleven jump scares first-hand while watching, rather than compiling the number from a jump-scare database. Ten are minor and one is major, at 38:55. They are front-loaded: four land between 27:56 and 30:10, and then nothing at all between 41:19 and 1:10:10.
Critics ran warmer than we did. The film holds 83% on Rotten Tomatoes across 18 reviews, and Dread Central rated it 4 out of 5 out of Brooklyn Horror.
Trailer
Shudder released the official trailer on August 5, 2026. It leans on the night terror sequences and the film's tagline, "Don't fall asleep."
Related films on Watch Darkly
A Nightmare on Elm Street(1984)
The canon film about sleep as the place where the threat lives. Parasomnia works the same boundary from the sleep paralysis side. Scores 8.1 overall.
Insidious(2010)
A demonic entity that reaches people through their sleep, and the closest thing in our catalog to what Parasomnia does. Scores 7.8 overall, and its fear sits two full points above Parasomnia's.
The Babadook(2014)
An entity that arrives at night and feeds on unresolved grief. Parasomnia's premise pairs its demon with a tragedy in Riley's past the same way. Scores 7.3 overall.
Skinamarink(2022)
The recent reference point for horror built from the texture of being awake at night, shot in fragments and grain. Not yet scored in our catalog.
Common questions
- When does Parasomnia come out?
- It was released on Friday, September 4, 2026, and is streaming exclusively on Shudder as the opening premiere of Shudder's Season of Screams programming.
- Is Parasomnia a 2025 or a 2026 film?
- Both dates are in circulation. IMDb, Letterboxd and TMDB date it 2025 from its festival premiere at FrightFest London in August 2025. Its release to the public is September 4, 2026, on Shudder. Same film.
- Where can I watch Parasomnia?
- It is streaming on Shudder now. It is a Shudder exclusive, and no theatrical run, digital rental date or physical release has been announced.
- Who directed Parasomnia?
- James Ross II, who also wrote it. It is his feature directorial debut.
- Who is in the cast of Parasomnia?
- Jasmine Mathews plays Riley, with RJ Brown as Cam, Sally Stewart as Mama, Stephen Barrington as David, plus Danny Brown and Simon Longnight as The Seer.
- Is Parasomnia scary?
- Moderately. Both of our curators watched it and scored it, and we rate its fear at 6.0 out of 10, level with The Shining and the original Friday the 13th and well under Insidious at 8.0. Gore is 6.5, Atmosphere 6.8, Intensity 6.5, and the Overall Darkly Score is 6.9. The profile is unusually even, so no single axis leads. The two curators disagreed most on fear, 5.0 against 6.9.
- Does Parasomnia have jump scares?
- Yes, eleven. We counted them first-hand while watching rather than compiling the number from a jump-scare database, and no such database carried a count for the film at release. Ten are minor and one is major, at 38:55.
- When are the jump scares in Parasomnia?
- There are eleven, counted first-hand while watching. They fall at 6:37 (minor), 20:44 (minor), 27:56 (minor), 28:06 (minor), 28:35 (minor), 30:10 (minor), 38:55 (major), 39:56 (minor), 41:19 (minor), 1:10:10 (minor), and 1:11:14 (minor). Four land inside three minutes between 27:56 and 30:10, and nothing happens between 41:19 and 1:10:10. Times run from the start of the film. Other cuts and streaming versions can differ by a few seconds.
- How long is Parasomnia?
- 85 minutes.
- Is Parasomnia rated R?
- TMDB lists the film as R, but no MPA rating descriptor has been published, which is common for streaming exclusives. We will update this page if one is.
- Is there a trailer for Parasomnia?
- Yes. Shudder released the official trailer on August 5, 2026. It is embedded above.