Vingança Doentia

We've have seen it all before. A person, often a female, gets angry about something that stands in her way of success or plain satisfaction. We saw that in for example "The Temp", "The Secretary", "Daddy's Girl" and "Fatal Attraction" by naming a few.

This time it's a nurse who infiltrates herself into a family where she holds the dad responsible for her own family's death. He has ended up in a wheelchair, totally invalid, still understands everything, but can't make himself heard. She plans how to kill his whole family right in front of him.

The main stars of the movie is Lisa Zane (Billy's sister) who plays the psycho-nurse. Beautiful Janet Gunn is the daughter who is the first to sense that things isn't alright with the new nurse. John Stockwell is the son who becomes attracted to the new nurse.

Even if I've seen everything before I think the movie is both exciting and fun to watch. Not a masterpiece, but also far from the opposite. An entertaining little movie.

If you're expecting 'The Hand That Rocks The Cradle', please don't watch this, because even if it's got near enough the same plot, it Definitely isn't in the same league. That said, this is still a very gripping, and in places, darkly comical thriller.

Lisa Zane stars as a professional nurse, who gets a call from her father while working, who says that 'she has got to be strong'. However, he implies that he is going to do something terrible to himself, his wife and his son. Sure enough, he picks up a gun, loads it with bullets, and shoots his wife and his son (both whom are asleep). Lisa gets home just in time to see her father shoot himself on the stairs... Lisa blames her father's boss for these terrible events, as he has filed a case against her father for embezzling. When his boss hears about the shootings, he suffers a stroke, which leaves him totally paralysed. On being taken home, Lisa sees her opportunity to get revenge. The man needs a nurse to take care of him. However, before Lisa can scheme her way in, another Nurse is hired. The solution to the problem: kill the nurse. Soon after this death, she weasels her way into the family, and there, she begins to stage her ultimate revenge...

If you're in the UK, you can catch this on Zone Thriller some time, as I did last night. If you're in America, there is a DVD of this film which is quite cheap to buy, so no-one has an excuse for missing this.

If you get the chance, tune in!

No pun intended and the movie itself is anything but light or has jokes like the one I made with my summary line. Also no connection with Mary Poppins of course. She wasn't a nurse either - but even if, she would be shocked if anyone would associate her with this mean individual.

Of course the main bad character has her reasons for being the way she is. One main role is mental health, but an inciting incident is the one that pushes her over the edge - no pun intended here either. It is all b-movie material and thriller. Nothing major here and as predictable as one can imagine ... your imagination probably will be way wilder than what you get served. Anyway, have seen worse, but also way better movies with ... well "nurses"

Nurse Laura Harriman (Lisa Zane) is out to get revenge on Bob Martin (Michael Fairman) and his family. See Laura's dad was so distraught over an embezzlement charge that he killed himself and the rest of the family, leaving poor Laura alone, confused and mentally unstable. Fortunately for her, Bob has a stroke, leaving him completely incapacitated (his fully alert self inside an expressionless body), so he's in need of full time care, so Laura quits her job at the hospital and signs on as the live-in nurse. She seduces the son (John Stockwell), arouses suspicion in the daughter (Janet Gunn) and starts to do away with everyone (often right before the father's eyes). Good acting, particularly from the deliciously wicked Zane, and an overall air of nastiness save this oft-clichéd bitch-from-hell flick (with a rather poor ending) from boredom.

The interaction between Janet Gunn and Lisa Zane carry the film and make it more than a predictable nurse-hates-patient story. Sure there are major flaws, like the nurse (Zane) kills the reporter and there is no investigation. But let's skip the small stuff. The movie is worth watching on a rainy or cold winter night. I gave it a 7 because of the technical flops, but the plot is a solid 8.