We know so little about the life of Eleni (Cemre Paksoy), a nurse working in an upscale retirement community, until something awakens in her. Directed by Georgia Bernstein, the perverse Night Nurse doesn’t quite qualify as a psychosexual thriller, despite underlying erotic tension; there is something more seductive and sinister under the surface.
Eleni lands a job in a retirement community that allows its upscale elderly residents a degree of simulated independence in bungalows centered around a “big house,” which offers more extensive care. Eleni soon proves susceptible to both being seduced and seducing, working as part of a nursing team with Mona (Eleonore Hendricks) for a client named Douglas (Bruce McKenzie). He is a man of striking confidence who seems to have skimmed off the system his entire life; Douglas is somehow permitted to stay in the community by Doctor Mann (Mimi Rogers) even after his checks bounce.
Douglas introduces Eleni to a common phone scam where she pretends to be a granddaughter in trouble with the law, baiting her prey until Douglas gets on the phone and closes the deal, telling their targets to send cash in an envelope to bail out their “granddaughter.” The scams briefly catch the attention of the local police and an all-hands meeting is held for the care staff, while Eleni, Bruce, and Mona drive around in his convertible, figuring out who their next target should be. Eleni and Mona fall for both each other and Douglas—forming a throuple that feels disconnected from the rest of the community—becoming both a cult and a family unit.
Night Nurse walks a fine line between camp and thriller. Its story is largely focused on the psychological journey of Eleni, a dedicated nurse who’s initially seduced rather than repulsed by Douglas, a control freak happy to sit and smoke by the pool all day and bark orders. It hosts multiple dimensions of their attraction, which Bernstein, captivatingly, never quite spells out; the only exposition we’re given is Eleni’s early confession to Mona that she feels like a changed woman.
Being a nurse requires an intimate connection with a client, especially when caring for the aging. We find out this position was open because Douglas is considered an odd case for Doctor Mann; he once fell in love with and confused a previous nurse for his wife. Douglas, for his part, is a natural-born con artist, and we come to doubt his “downfall” even as he is somehow able to pull a room full of young, attractive nurses in for a “party” that involves the recreational use of prescription meds.
The second collaboration between Bernstein and Paksoy (after their series following a professional cuddler), Night Nurse is a fascinating character study that can suggest an early Atom Egoyan film with notes of Michael Haneke. The film’s production design and aesthetic embrace a 1980s style, itself harkening back to Douglas at the height of his success. It’s never quite clear what kind of man he was before his health started to fail, but it’s easy to imagine Douglas as the kind of psychopathic lawyer or business shark who only shows teeth when about to bite. Night Nurse is a study in susceptibility and codependence as Eleni, early in the picture, becomes fixated on gestures of care. It’s not quite clear what her objective is until the final act, where perhaps all our suspicions are confirmed.
Night Nurse premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.