Rodney Ascher took us on a tour of the secluded and ominous Overlook Hotel like never before in Room 237, a documentary about various theories on what hidden messages or themes could exist in Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining. With The Nightmare, Ascher returns to the big screen with another documentary on a scary subject, one that's all too familiar for some folks: sleep paralysis. Tormented by "shadow people" and other eerie entities while unable to move their bodies, people plagued by sleep paralysis have their stories recreated in Ascher's The Nightmare (showing tonight at the SXSW Film Festival), and North American audiences can see these nighttime terrors brought to life onscreen soon, as Gravitas Ventures has acquired The Nightmare and will release it in theaters and on VOD early this summer:
"El Segundo, CA (March 13, 2015) – THE NIGHTMARE, the unique horror documentary from director Rodney Ascher (ROOM 237) will be unleashed in North America in theaters and on Video on Demand (VOD) on June 5, 2015 courtesy of Gravitas Ventures. The critically acclaimed film left Sundance audiences afraid to turn out the lights after its world premiere in January. The film screens at the SXSW Film Festival, in the Midnight section today, Friday 13th.
Imagine that when you slept, you sensed that something was watching you in the darkness. Worse still, when you suddenly woke up, you were paralyzed and helpless, as a shadowy presence came inexorably closer to you. Welcome to THE NIGHTMARE from Rodney Ascher, who last rocked audiences with his portrait of the Kubrick-obsessed, ROOM 237. In this new film, he uses atmospheric, cinematic recreations to get the audience into the heads of everyday people suffering from “sleep paralysis”, a condition in which they regain consciousness but are unable to move or cry out for help. Frequently they hear menacing noises and voices and even see intruders (human or otherwise) in the room with them. The prevalence of sleep paralysis in the general population is surprisingly high, approximately 6.2%, a statistic borne out by a dramatic show of hands (and one tearful testimonial) at the film’s park City premiere.
THE NIGHTMARE’S subjects hail from different backgrounds and walks of life, but share eerily similar visions of malevolent, near-human beings that grow increasingly aggressive the longer the sleep paralysis recurs. Are these just random hallucinations or something more? Rational explanations get challenged by the similarities of the “shadow people” multiple subjects describe looming over them. Ascher, who has first hand knowledge of sleep paralysis, brings the full intensity of this experience to the screen while maintaining empathy and respect for his subjects. As the film unfolds, distinctions between the documentary and horror genres fade as do easy lines between reality and the imagination.
THE NIGHTMARE was produced by Campfire’s Ross M. Dinerstein and Zipper Brothers Films’ Glen Zipper, co-produced by Tim Kirk and executive production by Content’s Jamie Carmichael, Preferred’s Kevin Iwashina and Ralph Zipper.
Director Ascher said: “I’m thrilled that we’ve found such a fearless partner to release the film into the world at large, Gravitas is dedicated to welcoming everyone to our Nightmare and I’m excited to be working with them.”
Producer Glen Zipper said: "Getting pulled inside the mind of Rodney Ascher was a remarkable experience neither Ross nor I could’ve prepared ourselves for. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Gravitas to share Rodney’s unique vision with audiences.”
"THE NIGHTMARE is uniquely chilling, it ignites what is already lurking within our own brains and lets loose all the monsters we house within. We are thrilled to work with Rodney Ascher and his team and we expect this film to keep people awake at night for a long time," said Mia Bruno, Director of Acquisitions of Gravitas Ventures.
The deal for THE NIGHTMARE was negotiated by Mia Bruno for Gravitas and Zac Bright and Kevin Iwashina of Preferred Content on behalf of the filmmakers.
Ascher is repped by manager Lee Stobby and CAA.
ABOUT GRAVITAS VENTURES
Gravitas Ventures is a leading all rights distributor of independent cinema. Founded in 2006, Gravitas connects independent filmmakers and producers with distribution opportunities across the globe. Recent releases include PING PONG SUMMER with Susan Sarandon, THE LONGEST WEEK starring Jason Bateman and Olivia Wilde, FELONY, starring Joel Edgerton, BACKSTREET BOYS: SHOW ‘EM WHAT YOU’RE MADE OF and Spike Lee’s DA SWEET BLOOD OF JESUS. For more information, please check out www.gravitasventures.com and @GravitasVOD."
Rodney Ascher:
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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