I understand Nurse 3-D is B-movie schlock and all but there are too many flaws to ignore, most of all a lead actress who is utterly terrible with flat line deliveries hard to disregard even with a script containing some truly corny dialogue. On the plus side, Katrina Bowden is wonderful and even though I didn’t care for the movie, it’s hardly the worst I’ve come across and the 80-minute running time goes by like a breeze.
Nurse
(2014)
Genre(s): Horror, Suspense
Lionsgate | R – 84 min. – $24.99 | April 8, 2014
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MOVIE INFO: Theatrical Release Date: February 7, 2014 DISC INFO: Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
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THE MOVIE – 2.0/5
Between the seductive front cover of a touched-up Paz de la Huerta and the tagline “Your pain is her pleasure,” I thought I was in for a real treat. What I got instead was a poorly made B-movie, even by B-movie standards, with bad acting and even worse dialogue.
Nurse 3-D centers on Abby Russell (PAZ DE LA HUERTA), a nurse at All Saints Memorial Hospital and her protégé, Danni Rogers (KATRINA BOWDEN) has graduated from the prestigious nursing program. Oh, and did I also mention along with being a mentor, Abby is also a serial killer? Yep, along the same lines as Dexter Morgan, she targets cheating husbands and dispatches them in unique ways as in the opening where she cuts a man’s scrotum and tosses him over the edge of a building.
By day, though, she’s good at her job but becomes obsessed with Danni as Danni’s relationship with paramedic boyfriend Steve (CORBIN BLEU) and after a crazy night out, where Abby and Danni get it on with a stranger, the relationship become even deeper and add in some incriminating photos and you get the picture, think Fatal Attraction with two females and no rabbit in a cooker… Abby’s latest target is Danni’s cheating scumbag step-father (MARTIN DONOVAN), a psychiatrist whom she seduces and you can guess what happens next.
As Abby and Danni’s relationship spirals out of control into crazy territory, with Abby becoming more obsessed with Danni and is bent in making Danni’s life a living hell including manipulating an NYPD Detective (BORIS KODJOE) who is investigating the step-father’s death and holding the scandalous photos over her head. However, not all is perfect for crazy Abby after the new human resources head, the overly cheerful Rachel Adams (MELANIE SCROFANO), seems to recognize Abby from her childhood which opens a whole new door into Abby’s sordid past.
Nurse 3-D should have been a better experience in that so bad, it’s good kind of way but instead we get C-grade porn, sultry yet corny dialogue included, and a star actress who turns in an utterly flat and awful performance where lines are delivered with no affect to go along with a messy plot taken from an episode of “Dexter”, though that’s not the only connection with the former Showtime series as the score’s composer, Anton Sanko, really should give part of his salary to Daniel Licht, composer of the defunct Showtime series. Short of the memorable theme, it’s eerie how close the two scores are.
The film was co-written and directed by Doug Aarniokoski whose career extended back to the early 90s as an assistant director and second unit director on a variety of projects (including From Dusk Till Dawn, Austin Powers 1 and Resident Evil: Extinction) before helming movies for himself beginning with Highlander: Endgame as well as numerous episodes of “Criminal Minds”. There’s no doubt Aarniokoski has some skill behind the camera and perhaps on the right track when it comes to tone as Nurse 3-D wasn’t all bad, but there’s only so much a filmmaker can overcome.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.75/5
This release comes with a matted slip cover and inside is an authorization code for the UltraViolet Digital Copy.
Audio Commentary – Co-Writer/Director Doug Aarniokoski sits down for a solo track offering up some tidbits on the filmmaking process and giving trivia on locations, casting and such. For a solo commentary it’s not that bad as Aarniokoski is lively and keeps talking throughout the movie.
Bad Medicine: The Making of Nurse (8:08; HD) – This is a promotional behind-the-scenes featurette that doesn’t have much info and instead the typical on-set sound bites from the cast.
Video Diaries (5:47; HD) are a set of handheld videos with the cast members Katrina Bowden and Corbin Bleu as they go about their day filming, training, baking, or, in the case of Bleu, pulling practical jokes. It’s more or less random topics.
Previews – The Collection, Texas Chainsaw, You’re Next
VIDEO – 4.5/5
Nurse 3-D arrives on Blu-ray presented in 1080p high-definition and a 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio. The picture, for the most part, looks good with sharp and crisp detail levels, a moderate amount of grain and not a sight of artifacts or pixilation and colors are nice and bright throughout. It’s a fine transfer that any fan will appreciate.
The 3D version, contained on the same disc, isn’t bad but it utilizes the typical tricks like objects thrown toward the camera. But some of the 3D elements look OK and there is some depth and no major signs of ghosting.
AUDIO – 4.25/5
The movie comes equipped with a standard lossless 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track which springs to life with the variety of music, and “Dexter” copycat score, while dialogue levels are crisp and clear. It’s not exactly a vigorous track or anything but more than satisfactory considering the independent nature and the exact content which is minimal in terms of audio effects.
OVERALL – 2.25/5
Overall, I understand Nurse 3-D is B-movie schlock and all but there are too many flaws to ignore, most of all a lead actress who is utterly terrible with flat line deliveries hard to disregard even with a script containing some truly corny dialogue. On the plus side, Katrina Bowden is wonderful and even though I didn’t care for the movie, it’s hardly the worst I’ve come across and the 80-minute running time goes by like a breeze. The Blu-ray release by Lionsgate has good audio and video transfers but save for the commentary, the features are mostly forgettable.
The Movieman
Published: 04/07/2014