Nightmare

An over-the-top psychological thriller from Hammer Films, the British studio most famous for horror, Nightmare brings it all: psychosis, murder, adultery, fraud, and, of course, terrifying dreams. Opening with a matricidal nightmare in the mind of a troubled girl in a Brontean finishing school, the narrative comprises two distinct halves that hinge on the machinations of nurse-companion Grace Maddox, played by a fantastic and enthusiastic Moira Redmond. While the first half covers young Janet’s (Jennie Linden) constant visions and nightmares in the wake of her mother’s murder, the second half follows Grace as she marries Janet’s guardian Henry Baxter (David Knight) and grows to suspect he wants to eliminate all of them. The film deftly brushes up against the horror genre, complete with dark passages, candelabras, and bumps in the night, but the outrageous criminal plotting central to the story places it neatly in the Gothic noir category. Fans of Clouzot’s Diabolique (1955) will especially appreciate this one.