Rodney Ascher

Biography

Rodney Ascher is a filmmaker whose feature debut, the ‘subjective documentary' ROOM 237 (IFC) looked at Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining through the eyes of five very different people, each obsessed with solving its countless mysteries. The film premiered at Sundance in 2012 before screening at festivals around the world including Cannes, London, the Vienalle, Sitges, Toronto, and New York. His follow-up, the ‘horror-documentary’ THE NIGHTMARE (Gravitas Ventures) explored the phenomenon of ‘sleep paralysis’ and it likewise debuted at Sundance where it was called The Scariest Movie of the decade” and “One of the scariest documentaries ever’ before being released internationally in theaters and digitally. His other projects include a PRIMAL SCREEN for the Shudder Network, a GIF-centric music video for the experimental, Hugo-nominated hip-hop band CLIPPING, Andy Kaufman’s posthumous (?) comedy album, ANDY AND HIS GRANDMOTHER (Drag City) and the infamous S FROM HELL.

Directed

1. Room 237 (2012) — Director
2. ABCs of Death 2 (2014) — Director
3. The Nightmare (2015) — Director
4. A Glitch in the Matrix (2021) — Director
5. The S from Hell (2010) — Director
6. The El Duce Tapes (2019) — Director
7. Primal Screen (2017) — Director
8. Haunted, Horrifying Sounds from Beyond the Grave (2018) — Director
9. Sonic Cinema: Sparklehorse (2001) — Director
10. Visions of Terror (2008) — Director
11. Somebody Goofed (2006) — Director
12. The Wheel of Torment (1998) — Director
13. Hot Chicks (2006) — Director
14. Enter the Optigan (2014) — Director
15. Alfred (1997) — Director
16. Doris Wishman Directs A Music Video (2020) — Director
17. Ghost Boy (2025) — Director
18. An Evening with Rodney Ascher (2025) — Director
19. Dog Days (2009) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Lynch/Oz (2023) — Host (Chapter 2: 'Membranes') (voice)
2. Sex Madness Revealed (2018) — Peterson
3. Blood Perspectives (2016) — himself