Nurse 3D

Nurse 3D
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDoug Aarniokoski
Screenplay by
Produced byMarc Bienstock
Starring
CinematographyBoris Mojsovski
Edited byAndrew Coutts
Music byAnton Sanko
Production
company
Distributed byThe Film Arcade
Release date
  • February 7, 2014 (2014-02-07)
Running time
84 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million[2]
Box office$706,617[3]

Nurse 3D is a 2013 American horror thriller film directed by Doug Aarniokoski and written by Aarniokoski and David Loughery. The film stars Paz de la Huerta, Katrina Bowden, and Corbin Bleu. De la Huerta plays Abby Russell, a nurse and serial killer who targets men who cheat on their partners, and who develops an unhealthy relationship with fellow nurse Danni (Bowden).

Production took place from September to October 2011. Nurse 3D was released in limited theaters by The Film Arcade and by Lionsgate through video on demand on February 7, 2014.

Plot

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Abby Russell works as a nurse but is secretly a serial killer who targets unfaithful men. She murders a man by severing his femoral artery and then throws him off of the roof of a nightclub. The following day, she attends the graduation ceremony of nurse Danni Rodgers, a student she mentored, and meets Danni's mother and stepfather, Larry Cook. However, Danni is ill-prepared for her first day of duty, and her superior, Dr. Morris, berates her for not responding quickly to an emergency. Abby views the situation with disgust, as she knows that Dr. Morris is a sadist who takes pleasure in tormenting new nurses.

Abby is further irritated when Danni chooses to call her paramedic boyfriend, Steve, for support rather than approaching Abby herself. She is pleased when Danni's call to Steve ends badly due to a fight over Danni's refusal to move in with him. She explains to Abby that she is unwilling to trust her stepfather enough to leave him alone with her mother. This distrust is later justified when Abby and Danni witness her stepfather having an affair while the two women are on their way to go drinking at a nightclub, which results in Danni drinking that night. Unbeknownst to her, however, Abby spikes her drink with a date rape drug, enabling Abby to get Danni to have sex with both her and random strangers. The next day, Danni wakes to find herself in Abby's apartment and leaves, despite Abby's plea for Danni to skip work and spend the day with her. Afterwards, Abby downloads several photos that she had taken from the previous night before leaving to see a psychiatrist, revealed to be Larry.

Abby seduces Larry by saying that she's addicted to men, alluding to her past history with her father. Confirming that he is unfaithful to Danni's mother, Abby shows up at his place of work one day and convinces him to give her a ride, during which she paralyzes him with vecuronium bromide, resulting in a car accident. After hearing of her stepfather's death, Danni seeks solace from Abby, only for Abby to grow angry when Danni says she will move in with her boyfriend. Abby comments that she hopes that Larry's genitals were severed in the car crash. When Danni realizes that Abby knows about the car crash, even though Danni never told her how he died, Danni leaves. This infuriates Abby, who decides that she will now hurt Danni instead of helping her. She slowly convinces Detective John Rogan that Danni is mentally unstable and obsessed with her.

The next day, Abby runs into Rachel Adams, a new human resources employee who remarks that Abby greatly resembles a girl she knew that was sent to a mental institution. Abby invites Rachel out for drinks and takes the opportunity to harass Danni by calling her via Skype and showing Danni a video of Abby injecting chemicals into Rachel. Danni tries to go to the police, only for Detective Rogan to dismiss her claims as evidence of her trying to hurt Abby because the other woman didn't return her affections. He uses the photographs Abby took as proof to this effect, which Steve sees as a result of Danni summoning him to the police station for support. This prompts an argument between the two, and Steve leaves in a fit of anger. Danni tries to approach Dr. Morris for help, only for him to use this as an opportunity to blackmail Abby into having sex with him. Abby initially pretends to agree to this arrangement but uses the opportunity to dismember and murder him. That same night Abby also knocks out Rachel and drags her away to her death.

Danni goes to the mental institution referred to by Rachel. She learns about Sarah Price, a little girl who killed her father after learning he was having an affair and witnessing him severely beating her mother. Danni discovers that a nurse named Abigail Russell at the institution took in Sarah. Danni then realizes that Abby is Sarah and has taken the name of her caretaker. Danni then tries to call Rachel to warn her about Abby, only to find that Rachel's phone is in her car. She then receives a call from Abby who was just having sex with a cop, who implies that she will kill Steve similarly to Rachel.

Danni rushes to the hospital, where she and Abby begin to fight. The staff initially tries to intervene, only for Abby to set off on a killing spree and lock herself into a lab. Danni and Steve pursue her, and Abby stabs Steve in the neck and runs off. Abby rushes home, where Detective Rogan confronts her. Noticing her neighbor Jared, Abby pretends that Rogan is trying to rob her. Her neighbor then bludgeons the detective with a bat, killing him instantly. Her neighbor is horrified to discover that Rogan is a cop, but Abby convinces him to hide the body, saying that Rogan was corrupt, and Jared would be badly treated since he is now a cop killer. Abby then assumes the identity of human resources employee Rachel Adams.

Cast

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Production

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In April 2011, Doug Aarniokoski signed on to direct The Nurse 3D, produced by Lionsgate.[4] Zaldy was the costume designer.[5] The film is inspired by the photography of (then) Lionsgate's chief marketing officer Tim Palen.[6] In July 2011, Paz de la Huerta signed on to star as Abby Russell.[7] Corbin Bleu was brought on in August 2011.[8]

Principal photography took place in Toronto, Ontario from September 6 to October 21, 2011.[9] During filming, de la Huerta was struck by a stunt ambulance which was supposed to drive by her. The production later paid her $73,000 in workers' compensation for her injuries.[10] In 2015, de la Huerta sued the film's producers for $55 million, claiming that the overdub by another actress (her lawsuit quoted a critic as calling it a "monotone performance") had infringed on her rights and damaged her career.[11] The lawsuit was not successful.[12]

Release

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Nurse 3D premired at the 2013 Zurich Film Festival.[13] It was released by The Film Arcade in ten United States theaters on February 7, 2014, and on video on demand by Lionsgate.[2] This marks the first film to receive a day-to-date release produced by a major studio.[2]

Reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 64% of 25 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.9/10.[14] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 29 out of 100, based on seven critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[15]

Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter criticized the direction and script writing, "Director Doug Aarniokoski and co-screenwriter David Loughery fail to infuse the overly familiar elements with the necessary dark humor".[5] Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times commented "doesn't have any of the wit that a film like this needs to give it campy coolness".[16] Peter Sobczynski of RogerEbert.com gave the film a positive review rating it two and a half stars writing, "It is ridiculously lurid trash from start to finish and anyone trying to argue otherwise is as crazy as its central character. However, while its aim may be low throughout, it at least comes close to consistently hitting its targets".[17] The Village Voice gave a negative review, opining that it "never truly embrace[d]" its "B-movie trashiness".[18]

Shock Till You Drop remarked that while they could understand why people would not like the film, it would have a solid appeal for "Those very special people out there with very special tastes that embrace 'the awful' and know how to have a little bit of fun."[19] Fearnet's Scott Weinberg also echoed this sentiment, saying that the film was "nothing resembling a deep, intellectual, or insightful horror flick" but that it was "however, quite a bit of good, gruesome fun if you enjoy 'body count' horror combined with a basic but serviceable plot yanked straight out of Single White Female."[20]

References

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  1. ^ "Nurse (18)". BBFC. October 17, 2014. Archived from the original on January 22, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Miller, Daniel (February 7, 2014). "Lionsgate giving 'Nurse 3D' a day-and-date release". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  3. ^ "Nurse". Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  4. ^ Fleming, Mike (April 15, 2011). "Doug Aarniokoski To Helm The Nurse 3D For Lionsgate". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 25, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
  5. ^ a b Scheck, Frank (February 7, 2014). "Nurse 3D: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 9, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  6. ^ Weinstein, Joshua L. (August 2, 2011). "30 Rock Star Katrina Bowden Joins Lionsgate's 'Nurse 3D'". TheWrap. Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
  7. ^ "NSFW: Paz De La Huerta to Seduce You as 'The Nurse'!". Bloody Disgusting. July 14, 2011. Archived from the original on November 14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  8. ^ Sneider, Jeff (August 4, 2011). "Corbin Bleu joins cast of Nurse 3D". Variety. Archived from the original on November 14, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
  9. ^ "Production List" (PDF). Toronto Film & Television Office. October 3, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
  10. ^ "Paz de la Huerta says Nurse 3D ruined her career, reportedly suing for $55M". Fox News. July 20, 2015. Archived from the original on December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  11. ^ Child, Ben (July 21, 2015). "Paz de la Huerta sues director of sex horror Nurse 3D for ruining her career". The Guardian. Archived from the original on May 25, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  12. ^ Gardner, Eriq (October 19, 2017). "Lionsgate Beats $55M Lawsuit for Overdubbing Actress' Voice in Movie". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  13. ^ "Nurse 3D". Zurich Film Festival. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  14. ^ "Nurse 3D". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 8, 2023. Edit this at Wikidata
  15. ^ "Nurse 3D". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  16. ^ Genzlinger, Neil (February 7, 2014). "Why, Yes, This Is Going to Hurt". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 10, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  17. ^ Sobczynski, Peter. "Nurse 3D Movie Review & Film Summary (2014) - Roger Ebert". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  18. ^ Wilson, Chuck. "Nurse 3D Should Just Embrace Its B-Movie Trashiness". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  19. ^ Turek, Ryan. "Review: In Which We Fall in Love With Nurse 3D for All of the Wrong Reasons". Shock Till You Drop. Archived from the original on February 25, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  20. ^ Weinberg, Scott. "Fearnet Movie Review: Nurse 3D". Fearnet. Archived from the original on February 23, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
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