The phenomenon of sleep paralysis, in which people find themselves temporarily unable to move or speak while falling asleep or waking up, is terrifying.  While I’ve never experienced it, Rodney Asher’s documentary The Nightmare made me extremely thankful that I haven’t.  The topic is so ripe with possibilities that I’m surprised it’s taken this long to translate into a horror film.

Penned by Final Destination writer Jeffrey Reddick, Dead Awake stars Jocelin Donahue as a straight laced social worker who finds herself in the grip of supernatural terror while investigating multiple deaths where people died in their sleep.  The film will be making its debut at the Shriekfest Film Festival next month.

Ahead of its festival premiere, a new trailer has been released.  While there are many elements in the trailer that look familiar, I’m still intrigued.  Sleep paralysis still has a lot left to be explored, but more so Jocelin Donahue is an underrated actress deserving of more leading roles like this one.

Directed by Phillip Guzman, the film also stars Lori Petty, Jesse Bradford, Brea Grant and Jesse Borrego.

A young woman must save herself and her friends from an ancient evil that stalks its victims through the real-life phenomenon of sleep paralysis.