Nursie (2004) User Reviews

Not too bad at all!

[Bezenby · 6/10 · 20 April 2011]

My favourite bit of this Misery-style thriller was when C Thomas Howell was pretending to drive a car when there was clearly a static tree visible from the window of the car he was in. Naturally I braced myself for a nosebleed inducing film but somehow Nursie managed to improve greatly and didn't cause too much pain at all.

C Thomas Howell is a doctor that ends up in a car crash and ends up at what appears to be an old folks home with a deranged nurse in charge, which is kind of like Misery if you think about it. Then again, Nursie manages to hold its own and never stays still for one minute. Once C Thomas (is that what friends call him? Or do they call him C? Or does he even have friends?)anyway once C or C Thomas gets stuck in the old folks home things kind of pick up and the movie keeps moving all the way to the end, which was kind of stupid but then again most of the endings of these films are stupid, really.

Worth it for a quid! Film 2000 have this out on DVD, with trailers for films you'll never, ever want to watch

Great Dark Humor

[beburry · 13 March 2004]

Saw Nursie at the strand theater. The poster said it won the Best Horror award at the NOME film festival and i can see why. It's wild. Don't know why others compare it to misery. It's not like King invented the hostage premise. This is what indie filmmaking is all about. Unpredictable, scary, but sometimes it cracked me up too. You never knew what was coming. A real 'kick'.

nola

[watts665 · 2/10 · 31 December 2003]

I caught this at a screening at the media experience in new orleans back in october. I did not know the movie was filmed on dv until the producers said it. This movie is very similiar to misery a film done many years back by reiner except he did it better. misery was based on the book by stephen king. this movie doesn't even come close to the nerve-racking nature and intensity of misery. NURSIE is cliched and downright dumb at many times. rhere is better dialogue in disney's CAT IN THE HAT. Hopefully we will be spared from a NURSIE II. NURSIE leaves it open for a sequel. Not all of this movie was bad. There is great cinematography and direction for a dv movie. The performances was good too. 3/10

Nursie No-no

[anxietyresister · 3/10 · 9 May 2009]

In this Misery rip-off, a young doctor involved in an automobile 'accident' somewhere near New Orleans is abducted by a sadistic nurse and her big brute of a son. Nursie runs a home for elderly women, but regularly abuses or even kills them if they step out of line. The poor guy is forced to eat drugged food and injected with syringes while being manacled to his bed. His only chance of escape seems to be through a shy young girl Nursie also keeps prisoner. But can he get the fudge outta there before this psychotic lady fulfils her aim of forced matrimony?

This boils down to one attempted escape after another, all being foiled by Nursie and her muscular goon of a lad, with the occasional death of an OAP and the sexual torture of our protagonist to liven things up. It's all very tongue in cheek and purposefully campy, but this repetitive formula gets real old by the end. I get the feeling this would have worked better as a 25 minute episode of The Twilight Zone than a full length feature film. Besides, if you've seen the aforementioned classic adaptation of Steven King's novel, why bother with this? It's cheap, it's cheesy, but it's not particularly worth your time.. and certainly is nothing compared to the Kathy Bates starrer. Don't bother. 3/10

Nursie is a terrible, bland, fright-less film.

[killofquestion · 1/10 · 31 March 2006]

For quite a while now I have looked out for a copy of "Nursie" on DVD as I had heard quite a few good things about it. Well I finally found it, and no less on sale for 10 dollars, unfortunately 10 dollars still is a lot for a film like "Nursie". The back promises the film will be in the same vain as "Misery", well yeah, I guess you could say its like "Misery" except more awful. It's bland, tedious, and very difficult to finish this movie. The simplistic plot goes like this -"a man and his girlfriend go driving down to visit a friend on the brink of a hurricane, they get ran off the road, and the guy ends up trapped with a psycho lady...oh yeah and here's the spoiler***** after repeatedly almost escaping, then getting recaptured and then getting drugged, he eventually escapes. OH WOW. And by the way he almost escapes like three hundred times and gets caught in another predictable, lazy fashion. The script is lazy, the directing is extremely amateurish (he constantly tilts the camera because that obviously means that this is indeed a "horror/suspense" film). Everything about this film is bland, predictable and sluggish. It's simply not enjoyable. One good thing to say is the acting isn't half bad, aside from the pure crap dialogue the actors had to spew out they did quite well, nice to see C. Thomas Howell back in action and better then ever...he should probably just be in a good movie next time...not even GREAT just GOOD. I don't hold any bias against this film for being low budget, I do not judge on that, in fact horror films that are low budget generally appeal to me more. "F"

Nursie

[DValentine_28 · 9/10 · 26 August 2005]

I went to see the movie, "Nursie" and was so surprised by the acting. I wondered who the Nurse was because I wasn't paying attention at first to the names and then when I saw the credits, it was the same woman who was in "North Dallas 40" and "Long Riders" a long time ago. I've always liked C. Thomas Howell but this time he seemed so grown up and deep. It was really scary. Not like other movies scary with tons of blood and constant slicing of peoples heads off but slower Southern like scary. The women in the nursing home, Twilight Gardens, were were really weird and feeble and sickly and Nursie was pretty twisted. Her niece, Mary Claire was so pretty. I wanted her to get what she wanted. I don't want to say what it is because I don't want to give anything away. I love movies shot in the South because they're so cloudy and steamy and dreamy and scary and complicated. Like the doctor tied to the bed in the attic that Nursie's brother feeds supper to.

I liked the colors. They were bold and whoever directed it must have known what he was doing for a long time because each scene led to the next. There wasn't any fat in the movie. And the song at the end was really beautiful. Spooky but in a way elegant. I'm waiting for "Nursie's Back".

A cinematographic juggernaut

[leo-120 · 7/10 · 9 January 2003]

Incredible camera work and direction. It's worth seeing just for the camera tricks. I still can't figure out how they did some of that stuff and I've been in the industry for 22 years. C. Thomas Howell is back... with a vengeance.

very quirky...horror/thriller

[Ms_literate · 10/10 · 28 July 2003]

I attended the Women in Film screening of Nursie in L.A. and thoroughly enjoyed it. A small movie but a possible cult hit. Savannah Boucher is brilliant as Nursie and David Parker is great and very believable as Nursie's brother, Raymond. C. Thomas Howell does an excellent job as the doctor. Good script...music is good... love the end title song. I wouldn't mind seeing it again.

An Incredible Journey Into The Mind Of A Demented Killer

[danielle-33 · 10/10 · 9 January 2003]

Wow. I just finished screening the film and I really can't believe some of the things I just saw. Whoever wrote this film must have a really warped mind because the subject matter is just so perverse. Stephen King look out because here comes Maxine Jordan!!!

Excellent quirky horror/thriller

[bid_hog_wink · 10/10 · 10 November 2003]

I attended the New Orleans Media Experience a couple of weeks ago. There, I attended a screening of Nursie at the Orpheum Theater. I found it very entertaining both scary and funny. The audience gasped and laughed all at the same time. I see a sequel on the horizon.

A genuine frightener

[alicespiral · 10/10 · 15 June 2007]

The horror movie that keeps you in suspense is the horror movie that's worth watching and watching again as this ones a keeper. Its the usual theme of Control in this case the owner of the retirement home which just happens to be where a real doctor finds himself being taken after an accident.When he mentions the word Social Services to the owner because he thinks some of the rules are being bent then that's enough to keep him there as a prisoner. The idea really of keeping him there is so he can sign death certificates etc to make the goings on there seem normal-and there's plenty of deaths once the patients have been robbed of everything. Its not unlike real life-today there's plenty of abuse in retirement homes

A diamond in the rough.......

[Boggman · 8/10 · 26 October 2005]

For horror/thriller fans that have never seen or heard of "Nursie", this review will start off by saying that this little film is an underseen gem! When Dr. Zack (C. Thomas Howell) crashes his car into a cow during a storm in the Louisianna bayou, he awakens shortly after wards to find out that he his at the "Twilight Gardens"; a retirement home run by Nurse Ada (Savannah Smith Boucher). Ada's big & fat dimwitted brother Raymond (David Parker) also assists with the daily duties and is at Ada's every beck and call.

Zack wants to leave, but the storm is still raging, the phone is out, and he is feeling a but groggy after the accident. He also meets Mary Claire (Frieda Jane), the beautiful young terrified niece of Nurse Ada, as well as Ada's patients...which she refers to as her "girls". The "girls" consist of seniors who all seem to be scared to death of their loving caretaker.

Zack soon comes to realize that he is being held captive by Ada, and that everyone else living there (except Raymond) is being held against their will as well. Zack tries to leave, but he is always unsuccessful and punished for each attempt after wards.

Ya see..Ada plans on keeping the doctor and starting up a romance with him as well. He also comes in quite useful for signing medical documents and forms that help to keep giving Ada the control over her patients that she has grown so accustomed to.

There is a lot more going on in "Nursie" than what I have just described above. This movie is a very effective thrill ride. The direction and writing are consistently sharp.

There are a few flaws in "Nursie", and the film stumbles at certain points, but overall it is well done.

What makes "Nursie" a little better than most of what is being made these days for us horror enthusiasts are the fantastic performances by C. Thomas Howell, Savannah Smith Boucher, and David Parker. All three are exceptionally good, but Boucher is a standout as the crazy and deranged Nurse Ada. She is just fantastic in the role and runs with it all the way, creating a truly believable and creepy character in Nurse Ada.

"Nursie" is somewhat similar in theme to "Misery", but it develops it's own footing early on.

Overall, this is a good movie! Recommended!

Nursie is a great movie

[slc-6 · 10/10 · 16 September 2005]

I saw Nursie at the premier in Shreveport. It is a movie that keeps you spell bound. It is very exciting and one is holding baited breath waiting for what is coming next. Savannah was the best as Ada in the movie; no one could have been better. Thomas C. Howell (Zack) worked his magic as the captured Doctor. Frieda Jane was great as the abused daughter of Ada. I liked the movie, because of the great directing and all the actors

were great. The music was well done and adds to the script. The picture quality was excellent. A great movie, wonderful actors, directors and writers.

quirky is the name of this gem

[trumpedup_md · 9/10 · 25 November 2007]

I was visiting a friend in Los Angeles and saw this movie in his DVD collection. I had never heard of it. I popped it in late one night. I'm here to tell you, it's a great little character piece. You can't help but like Nursie even though she's terrible and you hate her. The acting in this movie is excellent. It's one of those movies where although it's scary, you have to laugh many times. I gave it to a friend and her kids loved it. Nursie is a character you have to feel sorry for yet you want her taken out.

My favorite parts are the ones which show just how sick Nursie is. A pathetic aging woman looking for love and thinking she can force someone to love her. Nursie goes in and out of sanity. A very sick movie.