It’s perhaps a sign of unwarranted egomania for the director of FEARDOTCOM to bill his latest movie on-screen as “William Malone’s Parasomnia”, but Malone’s whacked-out, bloody head-trip is a DVD premier worth catching.

   Set against an audio backdrop of Nicolas Pike’s evocative score, the movie centers around art student Dylan Purcell, who cant help but notice a “sleeping beauty” patient (Cherilyn Wilson) at the local sleep clinic. She’s a young hottie with the eponymous condition that renders her helpless and unconscious most of the time. Purcell learns about some weird experiments going on at the clinic, and breaks her out - only to discover that she’s under the control of the psychotic mesmerist (scary-faced eternal bad-guy Patrick Kilpatrick) who inhabit’s the same clinic. Kilpatrick is using the vulnerable girl to resume his infamous murder spree.

   Wrapped around CG-enhanced scenes of Wilson’s dreamscape that look like outtakes from HELLBOUND : HELLRAISER II (complete with ornate rotating mirrors and creatures), PARASOMINIA is a movie of constantly shifting tones and moods. Bizarre, misplaced moments of light comedy and an unsubtle sentimentality are offset against mean-spirited laughs and graphically gory kill scenes : a cop is gutted, a guy gets his throat messily slit.

   Malone sure got together an eclectic cast. Jeffrey Combs is very funny as a jaded cop on the case, and Sean Young puts in a rare latter-day cameo at the very start as Kilpatrick’s wife : right after she’s introduced, she throws herself off a high-rise and the camera follows her all the way down. Purcell is a sympathetic hero and Wilson is sexy, sweet and fragile as the doomed girl (those of a certain inclination will appreciate her topless scenes).

   Malone’s most ambitious and stylish movie to date is erratic, to say the least, and has a surrealistic bent (including a weird clockwork band influenced by Del Toro) that doesn't’t quite come off, but it’s at least a refreshing change from the cycle of remakes, rip-offs and sequels. The ending bravely strives to be sincerely romantic and poignant : it would be easy to scoff at its corniness, but kudos to the filmmaker for trying.

  It doesn't’t shy away from nastiness : the climax involves Combs with half his face shot away and Kilpatrick getting a screwdriver shoved DEEP into each of his eyes.