Sleep paralysis is one of the most terrifying realities of human biology. Therefore, a documentary following individuals who suffer from this sleep disorder seems likely to carry a baseline of ‘terrifying’ without great effort. Unfortunately, The Nightmare didn’t go much beyond that baseline. The re-enacted scenes had a few disturbing shadow-people images, but no more than a show on The Learning Channel. The subjects of the documentary were a mixed bag – some rather normal, others incredibly bizarre – but what really fell short was the construction of the documentary. As I watched, I felt no real flow or story development that might allow the audience to feel part of a journey rather than a disjointed conversation. An interesting topic, and probably worth a watch, but not a must-see.
