THE NIGHTMARE is a Creepy Doc on Sleep Paralysis - Sundance 2015 Review
Director Rodney Ascher (Room 237) is back with another captivating documentary called The Nightmare. It details the horrors of a sleep condition commonly known as “Sleep Paralysis,” where people find themselves in a state in which they are paralyzed and cannot move or speak, but are completely aware of their surroundings. The big twist with sleep paralysis is the terrifying things that people will often see while being affected by it.
The Nightmare honestly tells the extremely unnerving experiences of 8 individuals (including some of his own) who are chronically affected by sleep paralysis, and then cinematically dramatizes those experiences in a way that's terrifying but true to the story. Surprisingly, these freaky dramatizations were able to make me jump in my seat more than I did in any other film I saw in the midnight series category at Sundance. The doc also induced that wonderful late night feeling of “Shit, there is totally a demon in my room. Under the covers I go!”
Buzz about this film prior to me seeing it at Sundance was everywhere at the festival, with conversations sparking about what Ascher would bring to the table this time. Having made Room 237 in 2012, which is an amazing documentary, we all expected something huge. Would he catch someone in the middle of paralysis? Would he run down the route of religion vs. science? Would he find someone capable of measuring the brain activity of one of the people affected? The discussion ran wild, and because of that, we were hoping for some kind of huge answer.
Did the film deliver on those answers? Not exactly. There were moments the people in the doc would seek professional help, telling their doctors and psychiatrists about what has been happening and then receiving answers like, “Oh, you’re just stressed,” or “Wow, that sounds like it sucks.” But in the end, there were no real attempts to even address the question as to why people see such horrible things. Instead, the documentary focused on the eerie similarities of what the eight people saw while being trapped in sleep paralysis. Instead of answering the questions, it raised even more, and in the end, raised the giant question: why are these people seeing the same terrifying things?
I don’t think that the lack of answers necessarily made this film bad. After seeing it, it clearly wasn't the film's intention to actively answer the big questions. It was to make people aware that this horrible thing happens to people, that their experiences are very similar, and that many are affected by it. So should you find a way to watch it? Absolutely! It’s still very informative, terrifyingly fun, and will lead to one hell of a conversation with friends.
In a Q&A after the film, the audience was asked if they had been affected by sleep paralysis and have seen similar things, 30% of the audience raised their hands. Would you raise your hand? I did.