The Nightmare

2015

Action / Documentary / Horror

11
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 43% · 60 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 43% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 5.7/10 10 7505 7.5K

sleep paralysis

Plot summary

Eight people experience sleep paralysis, a condition which leaves them unable to move, speak or react.

Director

Rodney Ascher Photo
Rodney Ascher

Top cast

Johnny Depp Photo
Johnny Depp as Glen Lantz
Heather Langenkamp Photo
Heather Langenkamp as Nancy Thompson
Elise Robson Photo
Elise Robson as Chris's Girlfriend
Loni Klara Photo
Loni Klara as Connie
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
703.59 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 31 min
Seeds 2
1.25 GB
1920*1080
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 31 min
Seeds 15

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by greenbs 7 / 10

Entertaining and at times scary, but missing a side of the discussion.

It's a documentary, yes, but it seems like its main goal is to be entertaining, not inform the audience about the science behind sleep paralysis (what little information there is out there, at least). While that's completely fine, I do think they should have at least had a mental health professional or sleep expert (or whatever they're called) weigh in at times. Once again, that's fine that they kept the focus on the experiences of the subjects, but I do think that in the avoidance of including a professional and researched opinion, it does feel like they're giving some undue credibility to the "it could be paranormal" argument. They do interview some people who believe and explain the more rational side of things, but it still would have been nice to hear from a professional.I've had sleep paralysis a handful of times in my life, and once in particular it was absolutely terrifying and it did seem like there was something in the room with me. It actually took a few weeks for me to get over it, but it would have taken much longer to get over if I actually thought for a second that the experience was "real" in any way and not just an elaborate creation of my own mind. That's not to say that I think the documentary is in any way dangerous to those who are looking for an explanation, but I do think people should go in more expecting a horror movie, and less expecting an informative documentary. That being said, it is entertaining to hear all of these pretty terrifying stories acted out on screen. If that's your thing, you should give it a watch.
Reviewed by ethanpollock 7 / 10

Compelling but Uninformative

The Nightmare is a genuinely scary look into the real life experiences of people suffering with sleep paralysis. It's fascinating to hear first hand what it is that the victims are experiencing, particularly when you see how their stories overlap with shared or similar visions. The reconstructions that play also draw you into the experience yourself, so it almost plays out more like a horror film than a documentary.Therein lies my biggest gripe about this film, it's not really an examination of the phenomenon, just a retelling of a group of peoples night terrors. At no point is there a medical or scientific point of view on the subject; all the "evidence" presented is anecdotal. Not only this, the editing almost tries to lean toward a spiritual viewpoint, which is disappointing as instead of getting to learn about this condition it tends to feel more like a religious propaganda piece, going so far as to claim that the only defence against this particular nightmare is the word "jesus".Entertaining, but not overly useful if your hoping to learn something.
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