Imagine that as you slept, you sensed something in the darkness, but you are paralyzed and helpless, as a shadowy entity comes closer to you, welcome to the world of sleep paralysis. In Ascher’s documentary, titled ‘The Nightmare’ he explores the phenomenon of sleep paralysis and recreates the atmosphere and terror that the victims experience. Often people suffering from the condition wake paralyzed and unable to cry out. It’s not uncommon for sufferers to hear voices, feel as if something is in the room with them or see disturbing images during episodes and often panic sets in. Sleep Paralysis is more common than you would think, around 6% of the world’s population experience the condition.
There is a common thread between sufferers, it’s not background or social standing, it’s the fact that almost all of the sufferers describe the same shadow people or horrifying visions during their episodes, leaving us to wonder if something bigger is going on.
Rodney Ascher (Room 237) brings their terror to life, during the film we witness what sufferers have described to create a truly terrifying film that is borderline documentary, borderline horror movie. ‘The Nightmare’ premiered at Sandance and played this past weekend at the ‘Stanley Film Festival’ “The Nightmare’ will be released by Gravitas Ventures June 5th.
