Nightmare Nurse (2016) User Reviews

Average suburban thriller

[quincytheodore · 5/10 · 15 March 2016]

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.

decent TV flick

[trashgang · 6/10 · 20 April 2016]

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

Really not that bad!

[johnbamber-543-390505 · 6/10 · 25 October 2022]

Is this an Oscar-worthy film? Not by a long shot. Is it the worst film to ever be made? Not by a long shot. It's just, mediocre. It's not bad, and it's not good. The acting is amateur, the cinematography and editing are not up to Hollywood standards, but there's a story and a plot twist that do make this movie entertaining. It's a bit predictable, but not entirely so. I gave it 6/10 because, while there certainly is room for improvement, this movie is certainly not the stinker it's being made out to be by many of the other reviews here. I watched it on Amazon Prime which, if you like bad movies, is quite the treasure trove for them.

Clearly Unaware of what Nurses Do......

[jengold · 2/10 · 1 April 2016]

Where do I even begin with this movie?

Perhaps I should start with the grammar--who ends a sentence with 'for'? What did she do this for? What did he act like that for? Really?! That right there should have tipped me off that this was going to be a BAD Lifetime movie. :(

The medical jargon--whoever wrote the script clearly copy & pasted anything medical from a quick google search.

For Brooke to be so awesome that she was promoted to sous-chef, we never actually saw her cook a thing! Heck, she didn't even stir a pot! And the chef was quite the diva--completely over the top!

Also, what kind of nurse (RN, LPN, whatever) is a nanny? Lance was in his right mind and able to administer his own meds. What he needed was home health physical therapy, not a licensed nurse to do his laundry, cook his meals, and obviously overdose him on meds.

The entire movie moved entirely too slowly for the ending to be so rushed that Barb was revealed in the last five minutes as the true villain. I do not suggest this movie to anyone.

Mediocre Lifetime thriller, not as good or bad as some

[mgconlan-1 · 6 March 2016]

The first Lifetime movie I watched last night was their Saturday night "world premiere" of Nightmare Nurse, yet another entry in their series of "The Nightmare _____" (as opposed to "The Perfect _____," "_____ at 17" and "The _____ S/he Met Online"), directed by Craig Moss from a script by Jake Helgren and produced by a company called Cartel Pictures in association with our old friends from previous Lifetime movies, Marvista Entertainment. It opens with a scene in the kitchen of a fancy restaurant (we hear a lot about how great the food is and get to see the divo-ish behavior of the main chef, but we never see the actual dining room, presumably because that would have been one more set the folks at Cartel and Marvista would have had to budget for) in which the big-cheese chef is complimenting Brooke Herron (Sarah Butler) on her latest creation and announcing her promotion to sous-chef, which is supposed to be a big deal in both money and status. Then we see her celebrating with her live-in boyfriend Lance Dawson (Steven Good, who's actually a nice piece of eye candy — a truly hot-looking male is rare in a Lifetime movie unless he's cast as a villain!) — though I'm guessing at the last name and it could be "Bawson" or "Lawson" — they're both downing way too many shots than are good for them and when they get in their car to drive home, they literally run into a man in the middle of the road and, though Lance (at the wheel) tries to avoid him, he hits him anyway and then runs his own car into a tree. Brooke gets away with a few cracked ribs but Lance's right leg is broken and needs a full cast, while the pedestrian they hit is killed. The police interrogate both Brooke and Lance while in the hospital but decide it was an unfortunate accident. Brooke is able to go back to work for a few days but Lance needs extensive in-home care, the way my long-term disabled home-care client did, is a mystery) — and the agency the hospital works with sends Chloe Spade (Lindsay Hartley). Of course, Chloe's sweetness-and-light act when she first shows up for work and agrees to start one day early whether she gets paid for it or not is an act, and Brooke starts to suspect when she sees that the pasta dish she gave portions of to Chloe (in the styrofoam trays in which restaurants frequently pack to-go orders — did she just happen to have them lying around her house?) was immediately thrown away when Brooke left on her first night. My immediate assumption was that Chloe would turn out to be the girlfriend of the man Lance and Brooke had run over and killed in their car in the early scene, and she was there to make our lovebirds' lives miserable — but then writer Helgren threw us several curveballs.

"Nightmare Nurse" is a pretty mediocre movie, not as bad as some Lifetime productions have been but not as good, either. The situations are pretty preposterous but the full-throated acting saves the day. Steven Good isn't really challenged by playing a milquetoast victim (but then he's nice-looking enough it doesn't really matter whether or not he can act!), and Sarah Butler is competent but no more (but then a more charismatic performer might have made the bond between Brooke and Lance too strong and left us not believing anyone could seduce Lance away from her), but René Ashton is quite good in the limited screen time for the character, Lindsay Hartley is an excellent Lifetime psycho as Chloe, and Traci Lords is also great in a small but showy role. Though the subject of "Nightmare Nurse" is psychopathic obsession, still there's a welcome lightness to the treatment, an ample supply of comic relief (notably the scene in which Chloe attempts to walk Lance to the bathroom so he can stand at the toilet and use it, and he's too embarrassed to be able to do so in her presence while he's so helpless he has to rely on her to aim!) that keeps the film from the sinister lugubriousness of last week's Lifetime "world premiere," "Suicide Note."

B. A. D. A. C. T. I. N. G. ! ! !

[Carriexoc · 1/10 · 15 February 2019]

Holy bad acting Batman! The only missing was the porn! Just wrong! Could have been a pretty good Lifetime Movie but either the director or the editor or ex porn star just made it so so so bad!!!! So bummed 🙁

Eating boyfriend

[u-shyamsundar · 1/10 · 8 September 2018]

Why that guy is always eating in most of the scenes???

People! This is a melodrama!

[vnssyndrome89 · 5/10 · 25 July 2023]

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.

The other Butler

[kosmasp · 5/10 · 18 June 2022]

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.

Mostly watchable

[phd_travel · 7/10 · 5 September 2016]

As far as lifetime thrillers go this one is slightly above average which means it's worth one watch. The cast is pleasant to look at, the story is mostly kept believable with one not too outrageous twist. A couple are involved in a car accident that kills a man who walked out in front of them. An attractive nurse is sent to look after the driver of the car who has a broken leg at home but she has her own agenda.

Lindsay Hartley plays the nurse and she plays it suitably unhinged when required. Her face can be quite scary. Sarah Butler and Steven Good are the couple. Her character is a bit irritating.

Worth one watch.

Welcome to His Nightmare

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 16 December 2016]

Somewhere in Los Angeles, professional chef Sarah Butler (as Brooke Harmon) gets a promotion. A happy cook, Ms. Butler has just moved in with handsome boyfriend Steven Good (as Lance Boston). An Internet web designer, Mr. Good proposed marriage to Butler. She decided the couple should live together for around three years, before making it legal. That seems reasonable, for our characters. After celebrating her work promotion, they have a tragic accident while driving home. For reasons unclear, a strange man walks into ongoing traffic and is hit by Good. Butler is fine, but Good has a broken leg. He needs a full-time nurse to help him take his medication and go to the bathroom. In walks attractive Lindsay Hartley (as Chloe Spade)...

"Nightmare Nurse" is your average "Lifetime" TV movie. The obvious weakness is a story with plot points that should have been clearer. Jake Helgren's story is implausible, as is necessary for the genre, but you'll see things happening that require further explanation. Most obviously, characters appear in places too unexpectedly...

Relatively new to this sort of movie, director Craig Moss is outstanding. His early hospital scenes capture the mood and characters very well. The shot of Good with his leg raised way up was great. Having the hapless couple wake up in Verdugo Hills Hospital with nurses "Barb" and "Paul" set the stage for a "Nightmare Nurse" adventure. Coming to consciousness with "Barb" and "Paul" in that hospital would make me squeamish. VHH nurses don't look like Traci Lords and Michael Finn. Still, considering the story, they are well cast. The folks who make TV movies should send the director a multi-picture contract, as Mr. Moss keeps the characters engaging with limited sets and budget. Moss should also consider holding out for bigger pictures.

***** Nightmare Nurse (3/5/2016) Craig Moss ~ Sarah Butler, Steven Good, Lindsay Hartley, Traci Lords

Excellent movie deserving of 8+ rating

[carlglenn · 9/10 · 11 June 2016]

This is one of those films that sets itself apart from most modern flicks of today. I feel whats makes this such an exciting and enjoyable film is not just the good story-line but a movie title to match. The name "Nightmare nurse" has a lot to contribute with making this a feel-good yet thrilling movie from start to finish.

Something a wide selection of viewers would find both riveting and thoroughly worth their time.

All those in the cast have acted brilliantly. However Top marks to Lindsay Hartley's performance as Chloe . Lindsay lives the part with her excellent character acting that's deserving at the very least of a Oscar nomination if not the very award itself !

It just seems the actors are in the wrong parts

[hollywoodshack · 6/10 · 10 May 2020]

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.

I'm here to help you.

[nogodnomasters · 3/10 · 23 October 2017]

Lance (Steven Good) and Brooke (Sarah Butler) are a happily married couple who off a guy with their car. They survive. Brooke goes back to work as a chef while Lance is forced to have therapy with the nurse from Maxim (Lindsay Hartley). She takes a shine to Lance which creates problems. His other option for a nurse is a chunky Traci Lords.

This is a Lifetime film. The expected twist that comes in this type of Nanny formula film, was done a bit differently, but made the film a bit awkward.

The acting wasn't there.

Horrible

[geoffox-766-418467 · 22 September 2016]

Hard to believe any of this. Young Couple have accidentally, killed someone in a car, go to hospital, she's okay, he fractured leg cannot walk and needs a nurse to care for him while girlfriend works. Seems nursie is wacko and wants boyfriend for herself. Feud with couple and she is fired. Boyfriend is just an idiot and without a clue to life and whatever. Seems all the women around him protecting him fighting over him and generally being a nuisance. And boyfriend just lays there helpless. So helpless he can't even take his own meds. Give me a break. It's his leg not his arms, hands, etc. Even the ending is not a surprise as I knew it in the beginning. In the ending boyfriend lies on sofa while all the women are fighting over him. Duh. He can hobble to the door to let people in but can't move when they are having at it around him. Girls, he's not worth it. Move on to a man. This is a boy without any balls.

Average...

[teodoramonika · 5/10 · 18 December 2021]

4.5 / 10.

The story has already been seen. It's nothing special, it has a little twist at the end and it's not boring but it's far from a good movie. A classic third-rate film to kill time.

Started Off Interesting.... (got stupid pretty fast.)

[bronzesrv · 5/10 · 13 March 2024]

As a lot of viewers, comments have already pointed out a very predictable lifetime movie, started out interesting enough, but then went downhill and had a rushed ending. I don't like to do spoilers, but I will say, within the first 10 minutes of the movie you pretty much know how it is going to end. A couple of the main characters were very irritating, and like another viewer pointed out, the guy was not injured enough to where He couldn't cook or take his own meds, that was over the top for sure, and took the realness out of the film. He did not need a live-in nanny. And certain things happened in the film to where the nurse should've been fired immediately and jailed. Not given a chance to do more heinous things to the patient. That part of the film really ticked me off. But by then, I went ahead and finished it because I don't like reviewing films that I don't watch all the way through, it's at least one good watch, if you don't have anything else to do, and grabs your attention the first half hour or so, but takes you nowhere the rest of the way... I hadn't seen Tracy Lords in years in films like these, so believe it or not it was refreshing to see her, and she's aged well.

Gourmet Meals, Pasta, and Home-Made Cookies

[lavatch · 8/10 · 1 April 2020]

"Nightmare Nurse" tells a harrowing saga of a naughty nurse, who, instead of helping a man to recover through home nursing, tries to seduce him and possibly murder him.

The characters were nicely developed, including the young couple Brooke and Lance. Brooke has become a sous chef at a gourmet restaurant and works long hours. Lance is a professor and web designer. But after an auto accident, which takes the life of a man who "jumped" in front of their car, Lance needs help from a nurse during his recovery at home.

Chloe, the nurse that is hired, is the most intriguing character in the film. She has had a checkered past with her nursing and a major incident where she had a meltdown after she fell in love with her patient. Now, it would appear that she is infatuated with Lance. When he rejects her advances, she may now potentially pose a threat to him as a scorned woman.

But the appearances in this film are deceiving. In the final fifteen minutes, there is an interesting plot twist that involves the kind nurse Barb, who, claims that she is the best nurse in the hospital. But there are dark caverns in the human soul that move humans into the realm of the irrational, as apparent in the imaginative mind of Barb.

The film was well produced with an excellent set of performances. Food was important in the film with the special dishes of pasta prepared by Brooke at the restaurant, as well as the feeding of Lance at home with special meals and treats, including the secret recipe of cookies served up to him by Barb. Beware of those cookies, Lance!!!

***

[edwagreen · 8/10 · 8 March 2016]

The film starts off well when a young couple are involved in an accident which kills a pedestrian. Though they are vindicated, their lives shall never be the same and the irony here is that it's the nursing profession that put them in grave danger.

A young nurse is assigned to help our guy recuperate and at once she puts the moves on the guy and when he spurns her, she becomes more violent and takes others as victims along the way.

As the film proceeds, we are shocked by the fact that this nurse, with mental issues, has been used by another to perpetrate all that is going on. This may have weakened the film since the duped nurse did much of the dirty work while being led on by someone else. This may become hard to fathom.