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Nightmare

Play trailer Poster for Nightmare 1963 1h 23m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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71% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 53% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
A guardian (David Knight) and his lover (Moira Redmond) stage grim scenes to drive a haunted English heiress (Jennie Linden) mad.
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Nightmare

Critics Reviews

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Anthony Arrigo Dread Central Jul 23, 2022
2.5/5
Despite a strong first half Nightmare almost totally lost me in the second, where the focus is on an unsympathetic character and anyone halfway versed in cinema can tell exactly where things are headed. Go to Full Review
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Mar 27, 2022
B+
Creepy tale that has its chilling moments. Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Mar 20, 2022
3/4
Nightmare leans more toward the Les Diaboliques end of the scale. Go to Full Review
Kevin Carr Fat Guys at the Movies Mar 19, 2022
2.5/4
It is an interesting film to watch. It moves pretty quickly and it's interesting to try to figure it out. Go to Full Review
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Aug 19, 2005
2/5
Ken Hanke Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) Feb 18, 2004
3/5
Superior Hammer non-horror thriller. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Ian S @RT48225084 Mar 29, 2026 Not one of the Hammer studio's best but pretty decent. Well acted but the second half wasn't as good as the first Moves along fairly quickly and entertaining enough. See more Ted B. @Movieaddicted Dec 8, 2025 3.5 stars; One of a number of psycho-horror films that were popular in the 1960s. This one came from Hammer Studios in England and was one of their featured gothic horror films. The plot grabs you in the first third of the film, but then it drags through the rest of the film due to its easy predictability. The acting was okay, but just a little too much in the British style, if you know what I mean. See more j f @LiberteBurrows Nov 3, 2025 Psyop City. From the golden age of psyops too. See more David K @RT61474040 Oct 31, 2025 Yes, the ending is fairly obvious, but it's Halloween, dammit, and I watch all the horror I haven't ever seen. New thrills, new chills! See more nick s @Nick_S Feb 19, 2024 Very well crafted film with compelling acting and moody cinematography. The finish could have done with a little more rounding, but that's a minor gripe. See more Oct 29, 2018 Part of an 8 film set of Hammer horror. This was released the year after Paranoiac, but I watched it first. It may be because of this subjective experience that this one surprised me while the other one felt unoriginal, but I think there are objective reasons that this film is better. As I stated in my review for that other Hammer movie, this is a domestic drama with contemporary chills, rather than a classic movie monster adaptation. Right at the start we are launched into a nightmare with visually interesting Expressionist lighting and Dutch angles in a mental asylum. Janet (Jennie Linden) is sent home from her private school when one teacher/counselor fears she may have a mental breakdown from repeated nightmares and lack of sleep. The teacher (Brenda Bruce) truly cares and travels home with her to be sure she gets settled. Linden plays Janet in nearly a constant state of fear. I thought she was a very good actress as I believed her character's fear by her reactions. There is no supernatural threat, although it is troubling that aspects of her nightmares seem to come to life in waking moments. Instead the nightmares are based on fears that mental illness that can in reality be inherited will be passed down and that frightening actions taken by a parent will uncontrollably be repeated by the grown child. This movie fulfills the purpose of horror. In the real world I understand the fear that conditions like Alzheimer's, Depression, and extreme Anxiety are likely to be passed from generation to generation. As an audience, we do also see Janet girlishly exciting to see her long distance fiancé again. We notice that something is off about this guy, an in home nurse that has been hired, and perhaps the family butler too. There is a lot of mystery about people's motivations. Like in Paranoiac, halfway through a twist is revealed and suddenly a character who was in on the first scam becomes the victim of a second sadistic scam. This second victim is self reflective and expects to be better able to defend against the scare tactics that they were part of perpetrating against poor Janet. There are too many creepy occurrences for this second victim to escape though. Who is the top mastermind of these nightmare inducing plots? Freddie Francis again directs this diamond in the rough that I am so glad I discovered. See more Read all reviews
Nightmare

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Movie Info

Synopsis A guardian (David Knight) and his lover (Moira Redmond) stage grim scenes to drive a haunted English heiress (Jennie Linden) mad.
Director
Fred Francis
Producer
Jimmy Sangster
Production Co
Hammer Films
Genre
Horror
Original Language
British English
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 13, 2016
Runtime
1h 23m
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