In Nurse 3D, which is now playing in limited theatrical release and is also available to watch via various Video On Demand platforms, Paz de la Huerta plays a nurse out of your worst nightmares. From outward appearances, she is possibly the most voluptuous "nurse of the month" ever seen at a medical facility. Beneath her starched whites, however, lurks a psychotic killer, out for revenge against men guilty of cheating on their innocent and loyal wives.
It's a twisted exploitation film, one that chews up a variety of "medical horror" tropes and spits them back out with naked abandon. Happily, the film features a plucky heroine in Katrina Bowden, known to horror fans for her standout turn in the riotous backwoods comedy Tucker & Dale vs. Evil. As a new graduate of a nursing academy, she is determined to "do no harm," even if that means taking on the formidable Ms. de la Huerta.
Pitting a good nurse against a bad nurse reminds us of our favorite horror-movie nurses. Some of them are true healers, some only put on the uniform in order to disguise their true intentions, and others are innocent lambs led to a bloody slaughter.
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Very much on the "good" side of the ledger, Jenny Agutter is Nurse Alex Price, who takes pity on David Kessler (David Naughton) while he is recuperating from a mysterious attack by a wild animal. Their encounter quickly deepens into a relationship that is imperiled by David's proclivity for sprouting fangs and eating people.
Halloween II (1981)
An unfortunate nurse learns to her horror that taking a well-deserved break (and taking off her uniform) while at work can have murderous consequences, especially when Michael Myers is on the loose. We respect her because she really does want to go back to work. Sadly, she doesn't get that opportunity.
Silent Hill (2006)
Just one of these freaky-looking nurses would be enough to unnerve most of us, but poor Rose Da Silva (Radha Mitchell) must confront an army of them.
Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (2003)
Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) is an assassin who sneaks into a hospital where the Bride (Uma Thurman) lays in a coma and disguises herself as a nurse. While Quentin Tarantino's two-part epic is not usually categorized as a horror film, this sequence in particular, featuring an eerie, whistled tune composed by Bernard Hermann for 1968's Twisted Nerve, is pure horror.
Patrick: Evil Awakens (2014)
This remake of an Australian horror classic played on the festival circuit last year, which is where we saw it. Sharni Vinson (You're Next) stars as a young nurse who begins working at an isolated psychiatric institution. She quickly takes a sympathetic interest in an apparently comatose young man, which leads to trouble and turmoil for her. The movie will hit theaters on March 14.
