It is the dead of night. You awake to a dark room, only lit by the faint glow of moonlight from your window. Something begins to feel out of place. You try to get up, but realize that you cannot move. A figure appears in your doorway and slowly creeps nearer to your bed. You want to run, to scream, to do something, but you are paralyzed. The figure crawls onto the bed and onto your chest. It is grotesque and inhuman. You feel the pressure on your chest; you can’t breathe. The things stares at you and bears its teeth in a macabre smile. It raises its clawed hands and then –

You wake up.

Sleep paralysis is when either during awakening or falling asleep, one is aware but unable to move. Often one may hear, feel, or see things that are not there while in the sleep paralysis state, resulting in intense fear. Episodes generally last less than a few minutes, but for the person experiencing the paralysis, it can feel like a much longer nightmare.

“Other Lily” is an animated horror short film that explores the phenomenon of sleep paralysis. Animated and directed by David Romero, the short film follows Lily, a young woman who suffers from a sleep paralysis that may have horrific implications on her waking life.

An official selection for the ScareLA Screening Room’s Animated Horror short film block  in 2016, this animation is sure to give you nightmares!