The Nightmare | |
---|---|
Directed by | Rodney Ascher |
Produced by |
|
Starring | Siegfried Peters |
Cinematography | Bridger Nielson |
Edited by | Saul Herckis |
Music by | Jonathan Snipes |
Production companies |
|
Distributed by | Gravitas Ventures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 90 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $28,281 [2] |
The Nightmare is a 2015 American documentary film directed by Rodney Ascher. [3] The film had its world premiere on January 26, 2015 at the Sundance Film Festival and focuses on the topic of sleep paralysis. Ascher chose his subject because it had happened to him in the past. [4]
The film's crew initially began approaching participants via "message groups, YouTube videos, and a half dozen books that had been written", but found that participants began approaching them after the documentary's premise was announced. [4]
The documentary focuses on people suffering from sleep paralysis, a phenomenon where people find themselves temporarily unable to move, speak, or react to anything while they are falling asleep or awakening. Occasionally this paralysis will be accompanied by physical experiences or hallucinations that have the potential to terrify the individual. In the film, Ascher interviews each participant and then tries to re-create their experiences on film with professional actors. [5]
The Nightmare premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2015, before making its way to South by Southwest on March 13. The film entered a limited theatrical release on June 5, 2015, while also attaining an online release.
The film received generally positive reviews from critics. It holds a rating of 67% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 58 reviews. The critic's consensus reads: "Part documentary, part thriller, The Nightmare works just well enough in both respects to deliver a uniquely disturbing viewing experience". [6] [7] On Metacritic, the film has a 69 out of 100 rating based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [8] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. [9]
The film received praise from media outlets such as Indiewire, Screen Daily, and Variety , [10] [11] and Variety wrote that "Mixing talking heads, surreal bedtime re-creations and shamelessly assaultive scare tactics, Ascher's playful, visually inventive sophomore feature isn’t at the same level as Room 237 but that "it shares with its predecessor a warped affection for eccentric storytellers and a desire to give vivid cinematic form to their darkest imaginings, if that is indeed what they are." [12]
Shock Till You Drop remarked on how well the film was received at Sundance where one viewer "cried in gratitude of the film", and went on to state that although Ascher did not consult any professional scientists or doctors, the documentary was still effective in inciting terror. [13]
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." [14]
Man on Wire is a 2008 documentary film directed by James Marsh. The film chronicles Philippe Petit's 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center. It is based on Petit's 2002 book, To Reach the Clouds, released in paperback with the title Man on Wire. The title of the film is taken from the police report that led to the arrest of Petit, whose performance lasted for almost an hour. The film is crafted like a heist film, presenting rare footage of the preparations for the event and still photographs of the walk, alongside re-enactments and present-day interviews with the participants, including Barry Greenhouse, an insurance executive who served as the inside man.
Room 237 is a 2012 American documentary film directed by Rodney Ascher about interpretations of Stanley Kubrick's film The Shining (1980) which was adapted from the 1977 novel of the same name by Stephen King. The documentary includes footage from The Shining and other Kubrick films, along with discussions by Kubrick enthusiasts. Room 237 has nine segments, each focusing on a different element within The Shining which "may reveal hidden clues and hint at a bigger thematic oeuvre." Produced by Tim Kirk, the documentary's title refers to a room in the haunted Overlook Hotel featured in The Shining.
Tim Kirk is a writer, director, and producer who currently lives in Los Angeles.
The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz is a 2014 American biographical documentary film about Aaron Swartz written, directed, and produced by Brian Knappenberger. The film premiered in the US Documentary Competition program category at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2014.
Ivory Tower is a 2014 American documentary film written, directed and produced by Andrew Rossi. The film premiered in competition category of U.S. Documentary Competition program at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014.
The Overnighters is a 2014 American documentary film written, directed, and produced by Jesse Moss. It premiered on January 18, 2014, as part of the U.S. Documentary Competition section of the Sundance Film Festival, and it won the festival's Special Jury Prize. The film also won a prize at the Miami International Film Festival, at which it was screened on March 13, 2014.
20,000 Days on Earth is a 2014 British musical documentary drama film co-written and directed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. Nick Cave also co-wrote the script with Forsyth and Pollard. The film premiered in-competition in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on 20 January 2014. It won two Awards at the festival.
Last Days in Vietnam is a 2014 American documentary film written, produced and directed by Rory Kennedy. The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 2014.
To Be Takei is a 2014 American documentary film produced and directed by Jennifer M. Kroot. The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014.
Listen Up Philip is a 2014 comedy-drama film written and directed by Alex Ross Perry. The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2014, and won the Special Jury Prize at the 2014 Locarno International Film Festival.
Nasty Baby is a 2015 Chilean-American drama film written and directed by Sebastián Silva and starring Kristen Wiig, Silva, and Tunde Adebimpe alongside Reg E. Cathey, Mark Margolis, Agustín Silva, Alia Shawkat, Lillias White, and Anthony Chisholm.
The Wolfpack is a 2015 American documentary film directed by Crystal Moselle. It is about the Angulo family, who homeschooled and raised their seven children in the confinement of their apartment in the Lower East Side of New York City. The film premiered on January 25, 2015, at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize.
The Overnight is a 2015 American sex comedy film written and directed by Patrick Brice, and starring Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling, Jason Schwartzman, and Judith Godrèche. The film was produced by Naomi Scott and executive produced by Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass, and Adam Scott.
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution is a 2015 American documentary film directed and written by Stanley Nelson Jr. The film combines archival footage and interviews with surviving Panthers and FBI agents to tell the story of the revolutionary black organization the Black Panther Party. It is Nelson Jr.'s eighth film to premiere at Sundance. The film was pitched at Sheffield Doc/Fest's MeetMarket in 2014 and is the first of a three-part series of documentary films about African-American history America Revisited. It will be followed by Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and The Slave Trade: Creating a New World.
Best of Enemies is a 2015 American documentary film co-directed by Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville about the televised debates between intellectuals Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr. during the 1968 United States presidential election. The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. It was acquired by Magnolia and Participant Media.
Welcome to Leith is a 2015 American documentary film directed by Michael Beach Nichols and Christopher K. Walker about white supremacist Craig Cobb's attempt to take over the North Dakota city Leith. The film premiered on January 26, 2015 at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and, after a limited theatrical release on September 9, was broadcast on PBS' series Independent Lens on April 4, 2016.
Cartel Land is a 2015 American documentary film directed by Matthew Heineman about the Mexican Drug War, especially vigilante groups fighting Mexican drug cartels. The film focuses on Tim "Nailer" Foley, the leader of Arizona Border Recon, and Dr. José Mireles, a Michoacán-based physician who leads the Autodefensas. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2016.
Rodney Ascher is an American film director, best known for his 2012 documentary Room 237.
Kate Plays Christine is a 2016 American documentary film written and directed by Robert Greene. It follows actress Kate Lyn Sheil's preparation for the role of Christine Chubbuck, a newscaster who committed suicide on live television in 1974, for a fictitious film. It is one of the two films about Chubbuck that premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, the other being Christine.
A Glitch in the Matrix is a 2021 American documentary film directed by Rodney Ascher. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 31, 2021, and was released theatrically and on digital platforms on February 5, 2021, by Magnolia Pictures to generally positive reviews.