Sundance Film Festival 2026 – At the beginning of the new thriller Night Nurse, Eleni (Cemre Paksoy) waits in a conference room at a posh assisted living facility. With a view of the indoor community pool, her goal is to shed past vocational missteps and be hired for some solid, gainful employment. In the pool below she spots Douglas (Bruce McKenzie) and he returns the glance. After being sized up by Doctor Mann (Mimi Rogers) it is clear that she landed the job as an overnight nurse for her aquatic admirer and the plot is set in motion. These two should not have met, but they did.

Writer director Georgia Bernstein delivers an interesting story with Night Nurse, that is cursed with a generous, make that indulgent pace. I could definitely see what she is going for. A lurid, 70’s vibe, elevated, erotic thriller based in an often ignored setting. Yet, the sluggish pace seems to fist fight any real momentum and we are left trying to find a pulse.

Eleni gets the job as overnight nurse for notorious dementia patient Douglas. She is warned that he is flirtatious, handsy even. But she is assured he is harmless. This is a ’round the clock care facility so that means that Eleni not only gets a job, but an apartment to stay in with her partner nurse Mona (Eleonore Hendricks) who covers the day shift. One night, while Eleni is working at his apartment, Douglas saunters into his kitchen and picks up the wall mounted land line. He dials a number and begins coaching Eleni through a scam call. She blissfully complies and she is introduced to Douglas’ grift. He tricks the vulnerable old men in his facility into sending money to a “lawyer” in order to get their granddaughters out of jail. Turns out that Eleni’s roommate, Mona is in on it too. So begins the plot.

Both day and night, Douglas and his two nurses laze about his living quarters and bilk thousands from his neighbors. He runs his space like a drug-fueled harem of dopey women in scrubs, and for their part, Mona and Eleni embrace the control like a warm blanket. Here Bernstein really leans into the racy soft-core aesthetic. Composer Sam Clapp‘s score of piano and flutes serves a SKINamax feel while Lidia Nikonova‘s delicious cinematography gives late-night movie of the week colors that limit the blacks to a deep charcoal and allowing the colors to pop. Of course, this scam can only last for so long and soon enough the trio attracts attention. Bernstein then decides to take the story into territory that makes you lose any real respect you had for Eleni. Intoxicated by Douglas’ nauseating chauvinism, she is willing to risk everything.

I argue that the story of nurses joining a patient in a scam is an intriguing idea. But here we watch as two women give themselves to a smarmy ringleader for no other apparent reason that for the small financial gain and the thrill of the hunt. These characters have little to no self respect, much less any relatable qualities.

Then there is the pace. Why is it that some filmmakers think that slowing the action down to a crawl gives it more gravitas? That only works if you have earned the moment. Night Nurse wants to stay in a lethargic haze of psychosexual intrigue, yet none of it is sexy nor interesting. Bernstein is a talented filmmaker and one that I hope continues to explore film. She has a keen eye for mood and aesthetic, but Night Nurse is a lumbering creation that needs an infusion.