Coffee shops, television commercials, and those pop-up Halloween stores have already fully embraced the spooky season, so there’s no better time than now to catch up on classic horror movies.
While every horror film fan has a personal favorite genre (zombies, anyone?), some horror movies are even, frighteningly, about sleep paralysis, night terrors, and other serious sleep issues—not just things that go “bump” in the night.
Given that we discuss all things sleep here at Saatva, we thought it’d be fun to share our favorite sleep-related horror films ahead of Halloween. Just don’t watch these right before bed!
Horror movies about sleep disorders
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
The German silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari isn’t only one of the first landmark films of the horror genre, but it’s also one of the first to involve sleep. The villainous Dr. Caligari uses his skills in hypnotism to guide an innocent sleepwalker into committing murders.
The film’s acclaimed visual style, including eerie sets full of bizarre angles and jagged corners, reflects the nightmarish story and has inspired the movies (and bad dreams?) of countless filmmakers ever since, including modern masters like Tim Burton and Guillermo del Toro.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956, 1978)
While you can take your pick on which version you prefer—either the 1956 original or the 1978 remake—the sci-fi horror classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers is the terrifying story of aliens who replace humans with emotionless “pod people” duplicates while they sleep.
In both paranoia-inspiring versions, the lead characters discover the shocking circumstances behind the extraterrestrial invasion and desperately try to remain awake so they are not replaced.
Though the original is a classic, the remake has been celebrated for its even more dour tone and unsettling conclusion featuring an unnerving performance by Donald Sutherland.
Even the most fearless horror fans will be second-guessing their decisions to sleep after witnessing the chilling story.
The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)
While The Slumber Party Massacre screenplay was initially written to be a parody of the then-new slasher film genre, famed low-budget movie producer Roger Corman and director Amy Holden Jones decided to play it straight while still retaining some of the self-mocking humor in the original screenplay.
Would there be any better way to shoot a movie about teenage girls trying to have a slumber party while a power drill-wielding maniac stalks the neighborhood? Obviously, not much sleeping gets done throughout this film, but it includes all of the trademarks of early 1980s slasher movies.
The low-budget film was successful enough at the box office to be followed by two sequels as well as a 2021 remake. Collectively, they all provide some lighthearted entertainment that probably won’t keep you awake at night.
The Machinist (2004)
Best known for being the film for which Christian Bale lost over 60 pounds to realistically portray a man who becomes emaciated as a side effect of his year-long struggle with insomnia, The Machinist falls more in the psychological thriller category than a true horror film.
Nonetheless, the physical transformation and mental trauma experienced by Bale’s character, Trevor, throughout the film is indeed terrifying. Trevor’s lack of sleep is only one reason why he suffers from hallucinations in his daily life as he questions what’s both reality and the root of his misery.
If your taste in movies runs more toward mysteries, you’ll find many layers to sift through here until the film’s last moments.
Paranormal Activity (2007)
The tagline of Paranormal Activity asks “What Happens When You Sleep?” and in the case of this movie, one might not want to know the answer. While a great night’s sleep is priceless, this horror film’s ultra-low budget (it was shot for just $15,000) proves that unfortunately nightmares also won’t break the bank.
With much of the film devoted to “found footage”-style sequences captured on a bedroom camera while the lead characters attempt to sleep, Paranormal Activity is a slow burn of terror as audiences see the creepy happenings unfold.
If you enjoy this one, there’s plenty more for you—not only does the original film have three different endings (including one based on an idea by none other than Steven Spielberg), but there have been six Paranormal Activity sequels.
Insidious (2010)
Being a parent of young children can be terrifying in itself from day to day, but Insidious takes that to a whole new level of horror. A young boy, Dalton, is seemingly in a coma while his family experiences supernatural occurrences, from disturbing incidences to demonic apparitions.
As the family eventually discovers, Dalton isn’t in a coma but is in such a deep sleep that spirits can use his body as a conduit back to the living world.
Insidious represented a fascinating new take on the classic possession story and became a big box office hit—and unsurprisingly, it’s since been followed by four sequels, with more to come.
The Babadook (2014)
“See him in your room at night…and you won’t sleep a wink…”
Audiences may first chuckle when they hear the unusual name of this critically acclaimed Australian horror film, but they certainly aren’t laughing when they see the film’s boogeyman on the screen for the first time.
In The Babadook, a terrified single mother feels like she’s descending into madness when a horrific creature from one of her son’s storybooks appears to be tormenting the family in real life—or is it just the effects of the mother’s sleep deprivation and repressed trauma?
For anyone who grew up having trouble sleeping because of a “monster” in the closet or under the bed, The Babadook might bring back some unsettling memories that’ll make you question if those monsters ever truly went away the next time you turn off the light before bedtime.
The Nightmare (2015)
Truth is often scarier than fiction, so we’ve included a hybrid documentary/fictional film on this list.
The director of The Nightmare, Rodney Ascher, interviews people who suffer from sleep paralysis—when one is in a conscious state of falling asleep or waking up and could experience dream-like hallucinations but unable to move—and juxtaposes their words with startling cinematic recreations of their nightmarish experiences.
Even if you don’t suffer from regular sleep paralysis, you can doubtlessly identify with at least one of the frightening stories shared by one of the people who do—especially since they’re sharing their disturbing real-life experiences.
Dead Awake (2016)
Touching on the same territory as The Nightmare, Dead Awake is nonetheless a supernatural horror film that is all about sleep (as the title implies).
The movie depicts a social worker, Kate, who’s investigating several mysterious deaths of individuals who suffer from sleep paralysis and soon discovers that the culprit is an ancient, evil being (called the “Hag”) who murders her victims while they’re unable to move.
Uniquely, Kate first tries to remain awake to avoid the Hag but then strategizes on how to use sleep to combat the Hag and stop the monster from killing others.
The Night House (2020)
Combining a haunted house horror movie with a psychological thriller, The Night House features a woman, Beth (played by Rebecca Hall), who’s beset by inexplicable supernatural occurrences in the home that her recently deceased husband, who was an architect, had designed.
Before dying, her husband suffered from sleepwalking and Beth has since experienced haunting dreams depicting her husband involved in disturbing behavior before his death. Hall’s powerful performance of a woman questioning her past while grieving in the present makes this horror movie one not to miss.
Awake (2021)
While chronic sleep disorders are relatively uncommon in reality, Awake imagines the horrifying scenario where the entire world suddenly begins suffering from sleep deprivation after a cosmic event.
A troubled single mother, played by Gina Rodriguez, discovers that her daughter is one of the few people who can sleep normally and may hold the answer to solving the worldwide disorder.
However, her family faces the challenges of finding the help that they need as they’re confronted by the irrational behavior of others who are no longer able to sleep.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
The most famous film on our list, A Nightmare on Elm Street introduced the world to slasher film icon Freddy Krueger—the malevolent spirit of an unrepentant child murderer who in the afterlife now murders his victims while they dream.
Krueger has continued to haunt the dreams of his victims through seven sequels and a 2010 remake. Though the series fully embraces horror, the films haven’t shied away from campy humor during their elaborate dream sequences in which Krueger often takes on various outlandish shapes, inspiring nightmares for generations of horror fans.
FAQs
What horror movies are about sleep paralysis?
Sleep paralysis occurs when one is in a conscious state of falling asleep or waking up but unable to move, during which one may experience dream-like hallucinations. A documentary on sleep paralysis, The Nightmare, was released in 2015, and a fictional psychological horror movie, Dead Awake, was released in 2016.
What’s the scary movie where people can’t fall asleep?
Many horror movies include sequences in which the characters try to remain awake, but the best known is Invasion of the Body Snatchers, released in 1956 and remade in 1978. In both versions, the Earth is being invaded by an alien species that creates emotionless “pod people” duplicates of humans that take the place of their victims when they sleep.
When it comes to sleep, which movies get it right—and which ones get it completely wrong? Here, we put together a list of the most well-known silver screen sleeping stories and break down what’s true and what’s false.