If we remember the 1990s for one thing, cinematically, it could well be a number of landmark features that changed what was possible to show onscreen, it may be the emergence of considerable talents who would help to shape the movie and cultural landscape over the e next few decades, or it may well be for the sheer volume of thrillers we got given to us that could be labelled “(insert main noun) From Hell”.
The Nurse is one of those movies. It is, unsurprisingly, about a dangerous nurse (Laura, played by Lisa Zane). Due to an incident that left him ruined, Laura’s father murdered the rest of his family and then shot himself. This obviously leaves her quite upset, you might even say she was traumatised, but she soon hatches a plan when Bob Martin (Michael Fairman) suffers an unexpected health issue that puts him in a kind of waking coma. It’s “locked in syndrome”, which doesn’t sound good at all. And, unfortunately for him, Bob is the man Laura blames for the actions of her father. So she wants to destroy his family in retaliation for her own loss.
There’s a strange blend of talent here, both behind and in front of the camera. Director Robert Malenfant now has a filmography full of films of this kind, but this was a bit earlier in his career, while writer Richard Brandes has much more variety, having written martial arts movies, a horror movie or two, and some family fare that stars cute dogs. The main thing here, however, is that they know the expected beats of the particular sub-genre they are working in. There are no surprises here, although the ending is a bit more abrupt than I would have liked, but there’s a perfect tone throughout, with the building tension intertwined with a gleeful downward slide into further implausibility.
Zane is good fun in the main role. She makes a firm choice very early on, perhaps of her own volition or perhaps encouraged by the writing and direction, and doesn’t waver once as things play out. This is pantomime villain time, with those involved barely restraining themselves from allowing the main character to directly wink at the audience, and it works well. The motivation for the potential killing spree helps, as this is someone who feels so strongly that she deserves justice that viewers spend a lot of time rooting for her to at least pick off one or two of the more annoying family members. Fairman has to stay very still for most of his scenes, but he does his part very well. The rest of the cast includes Janet Gunn, John Stockwell (who I keep failing to recognise in any of his non-1980s roles), Nancy Dussault, and William R. Moses, and all of them do enough to entertain as they are caught up in the web of Laura’s crazed plans.
Look, this is no classic, whether you view it just as a thriller or as an example of a very particular kind of thriller, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun. There are things I would have changed, including Zane (as fun as she is here, she never felt like the best choice for any of her lead roles), but what is here ends up being a very enjoyable way to spend just over 90 minutes. There aren’t enough deaths, it’s a bit tame, and it’s very silly. But silly isn’t the worst thing to be sometimes, and I would definitely have checked out any sequels if they had made any.
6/10
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