Nurse 3D - Blu-ray

Film: By day, Nurse Abby (Paz de la Huerta) sacrificially cares for the patients of a New York hospital. But at night, the charming young woman transforms into a sexy vamp who goes on the hunt for unfaithful men. And when she gets hold of such a specimen, she first drives the men crazy with her feminine charms, before she then blows out their life light in the cruelest possible way. When Abby is sent to the hospital to take care of newcomer Danni (Katrina Bowden), she believes she has found a soul mate in the attractive woman. She wants Danni for herself. To bind her to her, Abby even kills Danni's unfaithful stiff Larry. But when Danni rejects her, Abby's fuses finally blow and she launches a merciless vendetta...

Nurse 3D is an extremely bloody and, especially at the beginning, amusingly evil work that looks really good despite a rather low budget. Director Douglas Aarniokoski has found atmospheric locations in Toronto, Canada that are perfect for giving the illusion that the story is actually set in New York. When Abby strikes, the 3D cameras are used to great effect, though the occasionally quite brutal sequences also work very well in the 2D version. Paz de la Huerta, known from the award-winning series Boardwalk Empire, among others, proves to be a very good choice for the role of the rather sick sister. For on the one hand, the actress somehow comes across as rather wicked and also a bit broken, while on the other she exudes a truly dangerous attractiveness that is enhanced by her very uninhibited approach to nudity on camera.

Katrina Bowden (30 Rock) is perfectly cast as the exact opposite of the man-killing Abby. As she did in the wonderful horror-comedy Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, she does a great job of miming the well-behaved, somewhat naive blonde who, backed into a corner by Abby, must rise above and bare her claws against her true nature. The nasty duel that the two ladies have in the second half of the film is really worth watching.

However, the film also takes itself a bit too seriously here. The cynical-macabre undertone, which the script has just at the beginning, drowns at the end downright in the blood that Abby spills. And as a serious horror flick, the whole thing doesn't really want to work. The premise is just too weird for that, and the way some victims are transported to the afterlife here is too wacky. As a horror-comedy Nurse 3D is really worth seeing - provided you are not exactly squeamish. If the film had revealed itself more obviously as a not quite seriously meant shocker towards the finale, this bloody visit from Nurse Abby would have been an all-around successful pleasure. But as it is, it's at least enough for a really entertaining and in places pleasingly original hospital visit, which should be a real horror vision especially for notorious strangers. Despite minor dramaturgical weaknesses, the bottom line is a very clear: worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The picture quality of the tested 2D version can fully convince. The image sharpness is also in the detail representation on a very high level. Only in very dark scenes, minor quality losses must be accepted here. The coloration is very atmospheric and changes depending on the mood from undercooled to extremely powerful - whereby red comes into its own particularly well here. The audio is in a pleasantly lively DTS-HD 5.1 mix, which transports dialogue out of the speakers with good clarity and otherwise impresses with some good surround effects and a decent mix of bass. Good!

Extras: As a bonus, there is a very listenable audio commentary by director Douglas Aarniokoski, who talks rousing about the shooting in Toronto, the difficulties of shooting in 3D and sub-zero temperatures or about the various locations. Since there are unfortunately no subtitles to the commentary, only interested viewers with a good knowledge of English can enjoy this really good commentary. In addition, there is a brief making of (approx. 8:08 min.), as well as video diaries of Katrina Bowden and Corbin Bleu (approx. 5:47 min.).

Conclusion: Nurse 3D is not a masterpiece, but this extremely bloody visit of nurse Paz de la Huerta offers entertaining entertainment. True, the story could have used a little more of the biting irony that is palpable at the beginning, especially in the second half. But some amusingly dark moments and the quite atmospheric realization make this sexy shocker an enjoyable horror flick, which presents itself on the Blu-ray in good picture and sound quality and also has a few nice extras on board. Recommended

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp