Director Rodney Ascher on eerie documentary 'The Nightmare'

“I woke up completely frozen from the eyeballs down and that’s when the shadow man walked into my room and leaned over, studying me, deciding whether or not I was ‘worthy.’”

Director Rodney Ascher is talking about his first experience with sleep paralysis, which serves as the main inspiration for his new film The Nightmare.

A long-time sufferer of the condition, Ascher says this first episode in the 1990s was his most violent episode. “Back then it was very difficult to find any information about it so I decided to see what new stuff was out there.”

This horror-like documentary follows eight people suffering from sleep paralysis. Unable to move, react or even speak during each episode, the film recounts each of the subjects’ experiences through a series of exclusive interviews and re-enactments.

Ascher follows his directorial debut (the captivating documentary Room 237) with this unique exploration of a terrifying condition, one that many do not even know they have. “I found out that this was something with a name that happened to lots of people,” he says. “It was more commonly considered a sleep issue than a demonic attack.”

After acknowledging that sleep paralysis was a universal condition, Ascher was keen to find more people suffering the same symptoms. “I knew I had a topic I wouldn’t lose interest in and what I wanted to focus on was other first-hand experiences,” he says. “The number of people going through what might be supernatural experiences [like this] is insane.”

Ascher and his production team searched the Internet for others experiencing sleep paralysis and contacted doctors working in sleep science. “We soon found ourselves swamped by people reaching out to us. We found four of the final eight featured in the film, and the other four found us.”

The Nightmare contains a series of reconstructions with actors to accurately depict the figure seen in many hallucinations, known as ‘the shadow man.’ Many sufferers acknowledge this devil-like figure in their room as they undergo paralysis seen either as an intruder or, at times, as a demonic creature.

“Some of their [the interviewees] stories were genuinely frightening, and I am still in touch with most of them,” says Ascher. ““Although they had a positive experience doing the film, I don’t get the impression that it dramatically affected their sleep paralysis.”

Despite being a documentary, The Nightmare merges reality with horror, a factor that Ascher refers to as a symbolic relationship. “I had always imagined that it would be eerie,” he says. “Making it scary kept seeming more appropriate the more I spoke to people.”

Ascher’s interest in ambiguity and inquisitiveness is evident in his work, particularly in his exploration of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining in Room 237. “I’m especially interested in asking questions,” he says. “But [The Nightmare] in many ways, it was a culmination of many different types of things I’ve shot over the years. A lot of the work has been bringing people’s stories to life and trying to be authentic to their experiences and perspectives.”

The Nightmare received its world premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. “After the lights went up, the number of hands that went up when I asked how many folks have suffered sleep paralysis was amazing,” he recalls. “It was as much a surprise to me as it was to the people looking around at one another.”

The Nightmare is an informative and terrifying documentary that explores the true horror of sleep paralysis. But does Ascher still suffer from the condition? “After watching the 1980s horror filmCommunion, I was struck by an especially cosmic bout of sleep paralysis – the first I had in years,” he says. “While making The Nightmare, however, I happily let it wash over me so I could take notes for the film.”