Unlike most other memorable Hammer horror movies, the 1964 mystery thriller Nightmare, directed by Freddie Francis (perhaps better known as the cinematographer of films like David Lynch’s The Elephant Man and Martin Scorsese’s Cape Fear) eliminates all of the monsters for an old fashioned quasi ghost story. . . the piece deserving to be remembered up there with those Hammer horror films centered on vampires, resurrected corpses, and lycanthropes.
Shot in shadowy black and white, the story follows struggling seventeen year old Janet (Jennie Linden), who is currently away from home living at a finishing school for girls. Cursed with nightmarish dreams where she wanders the same moody corridors before getting locked away in an asylum room with her mother (Isla Cameron), it is no wonder she is always teetering on the edge of a knife – as she witnessed her mentally unstable mom murder her dad with a knife some six years earlier. . .declared mentally ill, she now rests in an asylum just down the road from their manor home.
Leaving the school for a break and looking for whatever comfort she may find in the house where this haunting event happened, her favourite teacher, Miss Lewis (Brenda Bruce), escorts her by way of train, after which they are picked up by reliable family chauffeur John (George A. Cooper) – much to the excitement of the teenager. Eventually making it home, she is even happier to see their caring housekeeper, Mrs. Gibbs (Irene Richmond), though she’s a bit apprehensive when she meets new live-in companion, Grace Maddox (Moira Redmond) – who is actually an undisclosed nurse who is there to keep an eye on Janet.
Ms. Maddox has been hired by snooty attorney and legal guardian Henry Baxter (David Knight) – it is quite clear that Janet has a crush on the man. The reason her true profession is hidden from the young woman is that if any loose suggestion is made that she could be mentally ill like her mother, it might tip her into a frenzy.
Clearly modeled upon the ultra-successful 1955 French film Diabolique, which was co-written and directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot (and the first film often to be credited with a true modern twist ending), screenwriter Jimmy Sangster begins to introduce numerous unnerving pieces that will play tricks with our minds – including a booming transistor radio and creepy doll that Janet loves to carry around with her at all times, doorknobs that seem to move on their own, a white-shrouded wandering specter (that might just be part of her vivid nightmares), stabbed corpses that appear with lit birthday cake sitting next to it, and all the above mentioned moving players (plus a few diagnosing doctors to boot). When fused with the creaky old house that is etched in the spooky black and white cinematography of John Wilcox, you’re in for a spine-chilling time.
Jam packed with a number of twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat, Nightmare is a conniving murder mystery thriller done right. Expertly written, succinctly directed, and well disguised in its execution, one has to wonder if it would be better remembered today if original Janet hire Julie Christie hadn’t dropped out to make Billy Liar (1963) – and that is not to say that Jennie Linden does not succeed in her debut role. In any case, this is a film that must be rediscovered. So, help resurrect this atmospheric thriller, it will drive you mad with delight.