Debut features from directors give audiences a glimpse into the calling cards of new, emerging voices, showcasing their style, how they approach their narratives, or even which film legends inspired their work. Georgia Bernstein’s debut Night Nurse does all this, and more, with a psycho-sexual flair. Moving from twisted taboos to an obsessive erotic thriller, Night Nurse uses the willingness of a young caregiver and her calculated patient to explore a life-altering dynamic. With the voyeuristic lens of cinematographer Lidia Nikonova, the film’s unshakable unease makes viewing it feel like a taboo in and of itself.
A new, lavish retirement community employs an eager, youthful Eleni (Cemre Paksoy), who barely makes it out of orientation before noticing something off about her surroundings. As she walks a tour of her new surroundings, it’s obvious that everyone who works here and lives here exists within a rhythm. Their bodies move in sync with one another, which feels more like a performance they are leading rather than tasks within their workday. Eleni is assigned her very own resident to take care of: Douglas (Bruce McKenzie), who has much more in store for her than just administering prescriptions or giving him sponge baths.
As their interactions become more like an expression of sexual desire than those of a nurse taking care of an ailing man, there’s an overwhelming sense of confusion within their interactions that allows the film to teeter between what’s real and what’s concocted. Shifting from delivering Douglas’s meals to falling at his feet when he gives her the attention she desires. When care is given to Douglas from anyone other than her, it sparks jealousy in Eleni, leading her to become increasingly possessive of him. Toying with Eleni gives Douglas a sense of control. With drug use, manipulation, and even the occasional prank call, their lives begin to intertwine in ways that are nearly impossible to untangle.
Interestingly, Night Nurse examines where the power dynamics within this complicated situation lie. Is the bright-eyed new nurse prone to dark bouts of jealousy, or is it the resident who uses his unique charms to continue his destructive behavior? Bernstein effectively explores the imbalances between the two, where boundaries are crossed numerous times. Eleni increasingly falls away from her nursing duties, becoming consumed with Douglas, which makes it easy for him to use her. But as the film progresses, Bernstein ramps up the stakes of forbidden attraction and subverts any certainty audiences think they have about where this story is going.
Bernstein’s focus on Douglas makes him a layered character, wearing his lust on his sleeve for those who are looking. He has a distinctive need to have multiple young and attractive women around him whose only job is to care for him. And as the title suggests, a large amount of his antics and perversions take over at night. He demands a lot from those who take care of him, each time making them go further with his aspirations and ideas. But as much as he still acts like a young version of himself, he can’t hide that he’s in the residence for a reason. McKenzie, within this role, is entirely convincing; he’s intense, leading to interactions between him and the care staff that send a shiver down your spine. At the flip of a coin, he goes from a man who can’t bathe himself to a master manipulator.
After several days removed from a first watch of Night Nurse, the recurring thought that remained was the performance by Paksoy. Her youthfulness isn’t just obvious from her appearance, but there’s a sense of naivety that she portrays. Going from someone who has dedicated their life to helping others to a woman desperate to stay relevant and interesting—even when she’s pursuing someone who discards women once they’re no longer interesting. It’s easy to select any scene from the film that would show how effective her performance is, but her work within the final act is phenomenal, showing just how much her character has evolved since her first night shift, for better or for worse.
Most impressive of all in Night Nurse is Bernstein’s confidence within her debut feature. From the script to the pacing, it’s a love letter to many of the great directors that made the genre exciting, from Brian De Palma to Paul Verhoeven. And although the film focuses on sexual themes that some viewers will find uncomfortable, its thrilling twists make the film’s runtime fly by. Bernstein gives Eleni and Douglas equal enough screen time, although Douglas gets more of his life outside of the retirement home touched on; their relationship is entirely believable. It’s one of those films that could easily sound like a true crime story you’d see on late-night TV, but Bernstein elevates it with her control of tone and alternating between two different perspectives.
Moreover, the way Nikonova frames each moment of Night Nurse takes what Bernstein is doing with the script and ramps up the tension even more. The use of windows, door frames, and slow zooms forces audiences to search each frame—either to divert from the focal point or to consume every inch of the film’s beauty. The camera isn’t afraid to linger and get audiences up close and too personal, creating intimacy through Nikonova’s lens. There’s a lot of focus on hands in Night Nurse, with youthful, unblemished hands held together with older, wrinkled, scarred hands.
Undoubtedly, Bernstein’s directorial voice is strong and focused, with Night Nurse being a scrumptious tease for whatever she does next—a genre-defining work of taboo and eroticism that delves into how deception and manipulation fester. With two performances that will have the viewer on the edge of their seat for more than a few reasons, it’s easy to look forward to when this film becomes a classic within the genre that Bernstein so obviously loves.
Night Nurse had its World Premiere in the NEXT section of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
Director: Georgia Bernstein
Writer: Georgia Bernstein
Rated: NR
Runtime: 95m
with Night Nurse being a scrumptious tease for whatever she does next—a genre-defining work of taboo and eroticism that delves into how deception and manipulation fester
