Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Nurse 3D

April 6, 2014

Nurse 3D - Buy from Amazon: DVD or 3D/2D Blu-ray

Nurse 3D was shot in 2011 but didn't get a release until earlier this year when it debuted in limited theaters, as well as Video on Demand. That's not a good sign. It did open with strong buzz, especially from genre sites. So will it please horror fans? Or was there a legitimate reason it took so long to come out?

The Movie

After a title card telling the audience about the number of killers within the medical profession, we are introduced to Abigail Russel, or Abby, who explains in a voiceover that she is a predatory who hunts cheating men. Tonight she's at a nightclub and her prey is Fred W. Ward II, whom she takes up to the roof before slicing his femoral artery and pushing him off the roof.

Abby is a nurse at All Saints Hospital and one of the best nurses there. She's mentoring Danni Rogers, who is "graduating" to full nurse today. During the celebration, Abby meets Danni's mother and her step-father, Dr. Larry Cook, as well as Danni's boyfriend, Steve, who is a paramedic. Danni's first day on the job doesn't go as smoothly as she would have liked. First she gets into a fight with her boyfriend over moving in together. Then she has trouble with a gruesome case and gets yelled at by one of the doctors, Dr. Morris. First she turns to Steve for comfort, which pisses off Abby. Then Abby offers to take her out for drinks.

Danni's evening gets off to a worse start than her day, as she see her step-father with a woman. This leads her to getting really drunk with Abby, but Danni doesn't just get drunk, as Abby drugs her and in this state she has sex with Abby and some men. When Danni wakes up the next morning, Abby asks her to call in sick so they could be together. Danni turns her down, which Abby doesn't like. However, Abby took a lot of photos of Danni in her drugged state and she will use them later on. But first, she has to deal with Dr. Larry Cook. She goes to him claiming to be addicted to men and when he gives her his cell phone number, she knows he's a cheater and that night she decides to make him her next victim. She thinks this will bring her closer to Danni, but instead Danni tells Abby she's decided to move in with Steve.

Abby's obsession with Danni just got cranked up to 10. Worse still, a new woman joins the hospital, Rachel Adams, who threatens to reveal a secret from Abby's past.

I think it is safe to call Nurse 3D an exploitation flick. The amount of Boobs and Blood certainly harken back to the Grindhouse days. I'm certainly not opposed to subgenre, and this is definitely much, much better than most such films in nearly every regard. The writing, the directing, the acting, not to mention the technical quality. It reportedly cost $10 million to make, which is roughly $10 million more than the average Boobs and Blood horror movie cost to make, and you can see the results on the screen. However, I still wasn't as completely sold on the film, at least not to the point I thought I would be. It's hard to put my finger on it, but I think it didn't have the energy it needed, especially early on. Abby has an ongoing voiceover and her delivery is flat, intentionally so. While the writing is definitely better than the average film in the subgenre, it still wasn't sharp enough and relied more on style than it should have.

Overall, if you are a fan of the genre, it is worth checking out, but it wasn't as good as some of the buzz made it out to be.

The Extras

The Blu-ray has both the 3D and the 2D versions of the movie. It also has an audio commentary track with the writer / director, Douglas Aarniokoski. There is also an eight-minute making of featurette. Finally, there are video diaries with Katrina Bowden and Corbin Bleu.

The technical presentation is quite strong with a high level of details, strong colors, deep blacks, etc. There are no compression issues or digital artifacts to distract you from the visuals. The 3D is well done with good depth and plenty of objects thrown at the viewer. Normally depths is more important, but this film needs a bit of cheesy fun. The audio is as strong with clear dialogue and plenty of action in the surround sound speakers. The bass is utilized well, there's plenty of ambient sounds, and also lots of dynamic effects. A very solid audio mix.

The 3D / 2D Blu-ray costs $20, which is double what the DVD costs. Granted, it comes with both the 3D and the 2D versions, so the price on its own is actually quite good. Its just that the DVD is so much cheaper that it looks bad.

The Verdict

Nurse 3D is better than your average Boobs and Blood exploitation flick with better writing, acting, technical presentation, etc. However, it needed a sharper wit and more energy, especially early on, to truly rise above its genre. If you haven't made the leap to 3D, then the DVD is worth the $10 price-tag. If you have and are into the genre, then the 3D/2D Blu-ray isn't a bad deal either.


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Filed under: Video Review, Nurse 3D, Corbin Bleu, Katrina Bowden, Paz de la Huerta, Martin Donovan, Judd Nelson, Chris Hoffman, , Melanie Scrofano