This short film gives a sense of how terrifying sleep paralysis can be

Paralys reenacts the moment a young woman falls asleep while watching a game show, only to experience sleep paralysis.

If you've never experienced sleep paralysis, consider yourself lucky. Those who experience this type of nightmare it often feel as if they have awakened but cannot move despite some sort of terrifying force menacing them. In some cases it just feels like existential dread, though this film shows a common experience of a demonic creature sitting on top of the dreamer. My most vivid experience was in broad daylight, awake in bed but unable to move, as a viscous dark goo started to ooze from the ceiling, and all I could do was watch it slowly ooze closer and closer to my face.

If that sort of super-creepy stuff is your thing, check out the trailer for The Nightmare:

Learn more about the Swedish directors of Paralys at their Is This It site.

Paralys (Vimeo / Is This It)