The Nightmare is Rodney Aschers new sleep paralysis horror-doc, a hybrid of narrative and documentary that seeks to examine the phenomenon of sleep paralysis and then scare the hell out of you by recreating what sufferers see. It works. Which is why this new one-sheet for the film, out in June, is just about perfect.
In The Nightmare, Ascher interviews those who suffer from sleep paralysis, turning the camera on them, himself and eventually, eerie dramatizations of their experiences. Its a terrific blend that universalizes the disorder (many have admitted feeling it in one form or another) by putting it through a lens we can all relate to: watching a horror movie. This doc is both fascinating and eerie, and I really dug it out of Sundance.
Find a meatier rundown/synopsis of the film, below. Badass Digest debuted the poster, and Gravitas releases The Nightmare this June 5th in theaters and on demand. The film can next be seen at the upcoming Stanley Film Festival in Estes Park, CO, where Ascher will also premiere his mysterious new project, Director’s Commentary: Terror of Frankenstein.
Imagine that when you slept, you sensed that something was watching you in the darkness. Worse still, when you suddenly woke up, you were paralyzed and helpless, as a shadowy presence came inexorably closer to you. Welcome to THE NIGHTMARE from Rodney Ascher, who last rocked audiences with his portrait of the Kubrick-obsessed, ROOM 237. In this new film, he uses atmospheric, cinematic recreations to get the audience into the heads of everyday people suffering from sleep paralysis, a condition in which they regain consciousness but are unable to move or cry out for help. Frequently they hear menacing noises and voices and even see intruders (human or otherwise) in the room with them. The prevalence of sleep paralysis in the general population is surprisingly high, approximately 6.2%, a statistic borne out by a dramatic show of hands (and one tearful testimonial) at the films park City premiere.
THE NIGHTMARES subjects hail from different backgrounds and walks of life, but share eerily similar visions of malevolent, near-human beings that grow increasingly aggressive the longer the sleep paralysis recurs. Are these just random hallucinations or something more? Rational explanations get challenged by the similarities of the shadow people multiple subjects describe looming over them. Ascher, who has first hand knowledge of sleep paralysis, brings the full intensity of this experience to the screen while maintaining empathy and respect for his subjects. As the film unfolds, distinctions between the documentary and horror genres fade as do easy lines between reality and the imagination.
