Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Nightmare Castle’

Written by Scott Edwards

Some people believe that there is nothing more important than money and while we need it to make a living, it does not always amount to happiness. There is something to be said for those that have found richness in happiness with their families and loved ones. Not being able to buy all of the crazy things that are supposed to make them happy, they focus on who is around them leading to a great life. While it is nice to have some expensive toys to play with, will they ever truly make you happy?
​
Waiting for her husband to leave for his next medical conference, Muriel Arrowsmith has something in mind while he is gone. Bidding him farewell, Muriel gets dressed up for the night’s events and her employee David is happy to be along for the ride. Staying in the shadows of the Hampton Castle, Doctor Stephen Arrowsmith watches as his unfaithful wife brings David into his bed and he has had enough of the charade. Rendering them both unconscious and tying them up in his lab, Stephen tortures the two until he has filled the void of love in his heart. Knowing that there will be no repercussions for his actions, Stephen finishes his final act and is ready to move on with his life and his true love, the housekeeper Solange.

Yet there is a problem that Stephen and Solange will have when it comes to their living situation, as Muriel’s estate has been left to her crazy sister Jenny who has spent most of her life in an Asylum. After some time has passed, Stephen has come up with a plan to get all of the estate moved to his name and takes Jenny as his new bride. Not agreeing with this plan, Solange is forced to watch her love take on another that is not her and sees that Jenny and Muriel look pretty much alike. Knowing that Stephen is not over his past love for his past wife, Solange warns her love about the spirits in the castle, but being a man of science, Stephen will not be hindered by such talk, as ghosts do not exist. 

As the days go by in the old Hampton Castle, Jenny is starting to have visions during the night that are disturbing her. Knowing that she is crazy, Stephen is ready to see her mind come unwrapped with a little bit of help from his arsenal of drugs so he can lock her up once again. But the visions Jenny is having is of a murder that took place in the castle, and she is starting to find out what happened to her sister. Wanting to prove that his young bride is crazy, Stephen turns to her former doctor to help prove this point, but when Doctor Joyce witnesses Jenny being possessed by her sister, he knows that there is something much more sinister happening within the castle’s walls.

I really love looking back at old horror movies, mainly because they are all focused on the story and nothing else. While you get a couple jump scares here and there, they are more psychological than anything else and leave plenty to the imagination. Being based on money, it is apparent that Stephen wants every dollar that he can possibly get out of the relationship before he leaves with his love and while Jenny does not see this, the ghost of Muriel does and is ready to exact revenge on her living husband. It is hard to deny that Stephen and his love Solange are in the wrong and I really like how Doctor Joyce is able to put some pieces together to at least try and get Jenny out of the castle before her time runs out. With some ghostly visions, a brutal double murder, a family crest, a castle and ghosts looking for payback, this is just a great movie that shows that love can outweigh money, but at a cost. Stay Scared.

---