Nightmare Nurse

NIGHTMARE NURSE (TV Movie 2016)

BASIC PLOT: Brooke (Sarah Butler) and Lance (Steven Good) are a young couple happily sharing their lives together.

Hard work has earned Brooke a well deserved promotion to Sous Chef. After celebrating Brooke's newfound success, with cake and cocktails, the couple take their celebration homeward. To their horror, on the drive home, a drunkard steps out in front of their car. He is killed, and Lance is hurt. The couple is not to blame, but due to his injuries, Lance needs home health care. Chloe (Lindsay Hartley) seems like the perfect fit. She's attentive, well versed, and goes above and beyond her required duties as a nurse. But something strange is happening with Chloe. At first, it's nothing serious, just a little white lie or two. But as time goes on, Chloe's behavior becomes increasingly bizarre. She's fixated on Lance, and her obsessive actions are harder to ignore.

Is Chloe having a breakdown? Or is someone more dangerous, pulling her strings? Can Brooke and Lance survive long enough to find out?

WHAT WORKS: *The acting is above average for made-for-tv standards. All the actors deliver believable performances, and this elevates it above the standard faire.

*For a made-for-tv melodrama, there's a lot of character development. None of the characters are too over the top, so it's more believable, and more enjoyable. You find yourself rooting for these characters, and that doesn't often happen in made-for-tv offerings.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *Chloe calls, and tries to get an appointment with her psychiatrist. She's perspicuously agitated, and tells the receptionist her medication is not working. They put her off for a week, even though she's clearly in crisis. This would not happen! They would get her in immediately.

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: *This is a melodrama. If you watch this movie with that in mind, you'll like it a whole lot more. You're not supposed to take the over-the-top motives too seriously, it's pure entertainment. STOP LOOKING FOR EMMYS FROM LIFETIME MOVIES!

CLOSING NOTES: *This is a Made-For-TV movie, please keep that in mind before you watch\rate it. TV movies have a much lower budget, and so your expectations should be adjusted.

*I have no connection to the film, or production in ANY way. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews. Hope I helped you out.

No pun intended with my summary line above. And I have to admit, I am a bit of a sucker when it comes to Sarah Butler. I could not imagine wanting someone else, if you were her significant other. Espcially when she is as cool as her character here. Of course even her character is not without flaws.

But can you blame her, after what happens with and to her boyfriend? Not really I'd say - but as with other movies/thrillers of this kind, you probably can guess who the culprit is and what their motivation is. So no brownie points for you, for guessing it right. Still if you are either a sucker like I am or just want an easy to digest thriller of the week kind of thing, there are worse options out there.

Lifetime movies is usually a simple drama or thriller done for casual night, although there have been some remarkable mentions. "Nightmare Nurse" is not incredibly provoking or terrifying by any means. It plays in safe formula of constrained patient and the reliance on stranger. A couple creepy scenes aside, there's nothing terribly shocking on both acting and presentation.

Lance (Steven Good) is hurt in a bizarre car accident and in need of a nurse. Along comes Chloe (Lindsay Hartley) the odd seemingly too nice of a nurse who has equal dark side. The actors are presentable, all looking like models or beautified young adults. However, there's not much in term of setting the tone for dread, mainly because its runtime is relatively short.

It's a drama at heart, with a little bit of suspense and strange attraction in between. This won't be effective for those craving a solid scare or even jump scare since it's fairly timid. It will do for a popcorn night with basic drama, but one should maintain a manageable expectation since "Nightmare Nurse" won't treat any patient with visceral conviction.

I would think the seductive nurse would obviously be played by Traci and the mastermind of the scheme would be Lindsay. The plot has a lot of unbelievable elements. I doubt if nurses ever get this personally involved with patients.

Typical TV movie I came across due Sarah Butler being in it. She was supposed to be the next scream queen after her performance in I Spit On Your Grave (2010 - 2015) and some other decent horror flicks but somehow people did forget about her. And I must say she's really nice having seen her in the flesh twice at a convention.

I can't really say that this is a horror although it had all elements to be one storywise but being a TV movie it's of course low on all facts to make it a horror. No blood or gore or nudity. This is a mediocre thriller with a twist towards the end.

It's worth seeing not alone for Butler but also for another forgotten name, Traci Lords. I wont go into her history we all know the story. Getting towards her 50's this is the type of acting she has to deliver.

Nightmare Nurse is one you could see if you want to relax and don't get goosebumps or scary moments. Pure example of a television production.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 0/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5