During the 1960s, Hammer would sometimes counteract their lavish color Gothic horrors with some effective black & white psychological thrillers; this is one of the latter type.Moira Redmond plays Grace Maddox, a nurse/companion hired by attorney Henry Baxter (David Knight). Henry is guardian to a very fragile teen aged girl named Janet (Jennie Linden), who as a child witnessed her mother snap and kill her father. Plagued by nightmares, Janet travels home from school and continues to be haunted by visions of a scar faced woman in white (Clytie Jessop).It would be better for me to not relay too much about the plot, so that potential viewers can experience the twists and plot developments fresh. It manages to avoid being particularly predictable.Written and produced by famed Hammer scribe Jimmy Sangster, "Nightmare" is good fun, although I don't know if the screenplay would hold up under any intense scrutiny. Still, it is quite entertaining, and slickly directed by ace cinematographer (and sometime director) Freddie Francis. It's got plenty of atmosphere, especially in the opening scene, and Francis works well with the D.P. on this show, John Wilcox. The music by Don Banks is excellent.The cast is full of solid actors but no major stars. Brenda Bruce as kindly teacher Mary Lewis, George A. Cooper as chauffeur / gardener John, Irene Richmond as housekeeper Mrs. Gibbs, John Welsh as a doctor, Timothy Bateson as a barman, and Elizabeth Dear as the younger incarnation of Janet round out the credited players. The film ultimately belongs to those performers who are required to act out stress and hysteria; they're utterly convincing.A worthy viewing for any Hammer fan.Seven out of 10.

Freddie Francis directed this psychological suspense thriller that stars Jennie Linden as a young woman named Janet sent home from her boarding school after repeatedly waking up screaming from nightmares where she sees her mother stab her father to death, which really happened. Her guardian Henry(played by David Knight) and nurse Grace(played by Moira Redmond) try to help her, but Janet ends up in the asylum like her mother, though as it turns out, she is betrayed by those she trusted in an elaborate plot, which in turn boomerangs on them... Marginal film has effective direction and performances, but an overly complicated plot that ultimately doesn't ring true.

Now that screenplay format has to be a certain way--which ruins the film going experience--I highly doubt a film like this would be produced today. Studios would probably scoff at the change in direction this movie gives its viewer. The first half of the film focuses on one character, who we feel is the film's central figure, but then it changes gears and the script gives viewers a new main character halfway through the film. This leads the average film-goer to confusion and this device of changing main characters midway through the film would never fly today.The film starts with teenage Janet (Jennie Linden) who is sent home from her school. Janet, when she was eleven, witnessed her mother commit murder. Deemed insane, her mother was shipped to an asylum and the emotional Janet fears she is following in her mother's steps. Things don't go well at home as Janet has visions of a woman murdered in her family house. Although she has a strong support group around her, nurse Grace (Moira Redmond), her guardian Harry (David Knight), housemaid Mrs. Gibbs (Irene Richmond) and chauffeur John (George Cooper) she looses her marbles and gets sent to the sanitarium at the film's midpoint.Then the film focuses on Grace who feels someone in the house is trying to drive her mad. She too begins to see visions of a woman stalking the house. But who is trying to drive her mad? The same person that drove Janet mad? Grace feels that she knows who the culprit is but someone could be playing a cat and mouse game with her.STORY: $$$$ (The story is quite strong. The script will have you second guessing because it strays so far from convention. The problem with the shift in focal characters is that you, as a viewer, develop a relationship with the lead actor but then have that relationship squashed. Then you have to invest in a new relationship with a different character. This is the only real flaw to the film, but something can be said for breaking free of the by-the-numbers script that everything in Hollywood has become nowadays).ACTING: $$$$ (The acting is quite extraordinary. Jennie Linden gives the best performance as the tortured Janet which, given her exceptional work, hinders the film when she loses her status as the lead. She effectively captures the audience and just when you feel the utmost emotion for her Janet, the rug is pulled out from under the viewer and her character is lost. David Knight is chillingly self-absorbed as Henry and Moira Redmond is quite strong as the quick-tempered Grace. Both Irene Richmond and George Cooper give sensitive performances in their minor roles, as does Brenda Bruce who plays Janet's sympathetic school teacher).

Janet has been sent home from her residential school due to her being constantly plagued by horrible dreams. It's hoped that a rest might help, but it's also very natural that she's having troubles, as only six years earlier, she witnessed her mother going on a bloody rampage! Janet is worried that she, too, might be losing her mind. Unfortunately, there are those out there that might just be helping to speed up this process! Exactly what happens next is pretty exciting, but I won't say more, as I don't want to spoil the suspense and many cool twists.Now if you are looking for a subtle film, then this might not be it! Like STRAIGHT-JACKET, the movie has many great suspense elements but also is a bit of a guilty pleasure because of the extremely intense and LOUD acting! Also, like DIABOLIQUE, the film has so many good plots within plots that you're never exactly sure who's orchestrating what. Additionally, there are also story elements that are highly reminiscent of HUSH, HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE. If you like any of these films, then you'll no doubt like NIGHTMARE.A wonderful script and a great mood make this Hammer suspense film a terrific film for lovers of suspense.