Director: Adam Gray
Writers: Andrew and Adam Gray
Release Date: March 2008
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 45 min
Country: Canada
Language: English
Locations: Japan, Zanzibar, Newfoundland, Ontario, U.S.
Nightmare (currently shooting)
Five percent of the world's population has had the experience of awaking paralyzed while a supernatural entity climbs onto their chest suffocating them, including a level of fear that is beyond imagination. These attacks ahve been known to erupt in epidemics, resulting in mass panic, post-traumatic stress disorder, and sudden unexplainable death. Even the baffled scientific community is divided between psychological and metaphysical explanations.
In Roman times the entity was called The Succubus. In Russia it was known as The Vampyr. In Newfoundland it is called The Hag. The Vikings simply called it Night Mara, meaning "The crusher that comes in the night". Its face and name may change but it has always been with us... lurking in the shadows, waiting for us to fall asleep.
Haunted by his own recurring encounters with a malevolent entity, documentary filmmaker Adam Gray sets out on a journey to understand this terrifying enigma. From the foggy shores of Newfoundland to the steaming jungles of Zanzibar we will see where the Night Mara has left its mark. We will hear from those who have survived the experience, and the families of those that did not. We will meet the scientists, psychologists, and folklorists on the front lines of the battle for understanding how something without material form can traumatize and even kill those that encounter it.
Nightmare is a fascinating eploration of a phenomenon that suggests that the only difference between hallucination and the supernatural... is belief.
This documentary was created, written, directed and edited by the talented Gray Brothers - Adam and Andrew. This is the first of what we hope will be many collaborations between The Film Works and The Gray Brothers.