re-animatresse this is a documentary about sleep paralysis, not an educational film on the medical science and history of the phenomenon, but a series of narratives by people who have experienced it firsthand and their interpretations of their experiences the documentary is intended to scare, with an accompaniment to the interviews and short re-enactments of primarily minimalist, suspenseful synth and droning/pulsating percussive noise by composer Jonathan Snipes. the interviewees are all fairly articulate, the film is well-edited and the monster/(dream) entity designs and costumes for the re-enactments are artfully haunting the film is very effective at what it sets out to do, namely exploring a phenomena people throughout the world, including the director, have experienced and its effects on their beliefs and personalities it inspires a large enough fraction of the fear and contemplation in the viewer that the phenomena itself must inspire in those who experience it firsthand to make it well worth watching and recommending

danseils The only reason I'm offering a 2 rating is because of the time taken to make this doc feel like a horror flick. I have suffered from actual sleep paralysis for over 15 years. There is no demonic hold or parallel universe like creatures it's just literal paralysis from your motor functions while being completely conscience. Yes it creates anxiety, yes it's scary as all hell, yes you wish you could wake up from it, yes it literally takes every ounce of strength you can muster up in order to literally just lift your finger. It's absolutely terrifying because your heart rate increases and anxiety level sky rockets but you can't control your breathing so it feels like you're going to suffocate. This documentary took a science fiction spin on something that I have been unable to clinically explain since I was a teenager. I was expecting more and excited to sit down and watch this "documentary" and now I'm actually a little upset that this real life diagnosis is being portrayed as a science fiction movie.

gavin6942 A look at a frightening condition that plagues thousands; sleep paralysis.That creepy mask the one guy created... wow. He should be in the movie business or something, because that was just as disturbing as any effect that this film has to offer (and it is no surprise it is used in much of the promo material).What I really loved about this was the connection with aliens. I have never seen much about sleep paralysis before, which is a surprise given how terrifying it is. You'd think it would be more widely studied. But as an explanation for alien abduction? That makes so much sense, and could be the solution we were looking for... all those years of watching "Unsolved Mysteries" and "Sightings", and here was the answer.Most reviews were generally positive. IGN was more negative, awarding the film a score of 3.5 out of 10 and saying "Like a person floating on the edge of sleep who never quite succumbs, The Nightmare grazes its subject but never truly dives in." Some are critical because the film does not have interviews with doctors, which is a fair note... but wow, the people behind this did a great job projecting the fear these people have into our living rooms... scariest documentary ever.

trashgang Okay, I have watched it and again I can't understand why this is so high rated here on IMDb. nothing against mockumentaries or documentaries going wrong but this here was a real nightmare to watch.The only thing I saw was people telling of seeing dark shadows, yawn, in their sleep. They've given some kind of, yawn, electric shock and it opens a world that not everybody sees. Gotta stretch myself before I fall asleep.And we move over more then 90 minutes from one, yaaaaaaawn, person to another all telling the same story. Can someone tell me what is the point of this ultra boring flick? The only thing I was afraid of was the fact that I should fall asleep while watching and would go into some kind of nightmare. Astral projection and stuff like that, no probs with it but being told like they are showing it here, sorry. A bit too much, yaaaaaaaaaawn Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 0/5 Story 0/5 Comedy 0/5