Mary Shelley is best known for her novel Frankenstein. What is often left out is everything that she had been experiencing in her life that led to the creation of that novel. When she began her relationship with poet Percy Shelley, he was still married to his first wife. She later committed suicide. They traveled around Europe for some time and struggled with money. Mary also had to deal with the loss of her baby girl who only lived for a few days. Then there was the fateful suggestion by Lord Byron one night for each of them to try and write a horror story. This was Mary’s start to Frankenstein.

That brief moment in history to talk about Shudder’s psychological thriller, A Nightmare Wakes. This fantastic artistic film by Nora Unkel is a bold re-telling of Mary Shelley’s tempestuous relationship with Percy Shelley. In the film, we see how some of Mary’s traumatic life moments serve as a catalyst for her writing such a famous novel.

ALSO SEE: SHUDDER RELEASES TRAILER FOR THE PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER A NIGHTMARE WAKES

Here is the synopsis for A Nightmare Wakes:

While composing her famous novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley descends into an opium-fueled fever dream while carrying on a torrid love affair with Percy Shelley. As she writes, the characters of her novel come to life and begin to plague her relationship with Percy. Before long, she must choose between true love and her literary masterpiece.

LRM Online had the opportunity to talk with Alix Wilton Regan and Giullian Yao Gioiello. In A Nightmare Wakes they play the lead characters of Mary and Percy Shelley. During our conversation, we talked about their troubled relationship. We also talk about the importance of bringing Mary’s story to the modern-day. You can check out the full interview down below!

Shudder’s A Nightmare Wakes is now available on their streaming service!