The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
Nightmare
Thriller · Horror · Mystery · 1964
A young woman is plagued by nightmares of her asylum-patient mother. Upon returning to her family home, the nightmares become real when she sees a strange woman pacing the halls.
Movie details
Nightmare
“THREE SHOCKING MURDERS...did she DREAM them? ...or DO them?”
1964 Thriller · Horror · Mystery 1h 23m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.8 / 10
Community rating
A young woman is plagued by nightmares of her asylum-patient mother. Upon returning to her family home, the nightmares become real when she sees a strange woman pacing the halls.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Nightmare?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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In town for a job interview, a young woman arrives at her Airbnb late at night only to find that it has been mistakenly double-booked and a strange man is already staying there. Against her better judgement, she decides to stay the night anyway.
Like Minds
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A forensic psychologist must determine if a minor should be charged with murder.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
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Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren encounter what would become one of the most sensational cases from their files. The fight for the soul of a young boy takes them beyond anything they'd ever seen before, to mark the first time in U.S. history that a murder suspect would claim demonic possession as a defense.
The Awakening
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In post–War England, a writer and sometime-ghost hunter investigates a reported haunting at a boys boarding school.
The Invisible Man
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When Cecilia's abusive ex takes his own life and leaves her his fortune, she suspects his death was a hoax. As a series of coincidences turn lethal, Cecilia works to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see.
Hereditary
Horror · 2018
When the matriarch of the Graham family passes away, her daughter begins to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about her ancestry.
Case 39
Horror · 2009
In her many years as a social worker, Emily Jenkins believes she has seen it all, until she meets 10-year-old Lilith and the girl's cruel parents. Emily's worst fears are confirmed when the parents try to harm the child, and so Emily assumes custody of Lilith while she looks for a foster family. However, Emily soon finds that dark forces surround the seemingly innocent girl, and the more she tries to protect Lilith, the more horrors she encounters.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Horror · 1987
A psychiatrist, familiar with the knife-wielding dream demon Freddy Krueger, helps teens at a mental hospital battle the killer who is invading their dreams.
Look Away
Horror · 2018
A timid and socially alienated 17-year-old high school student's life is turned upside down when she switches places with her sinister mirror image.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Freddie Francis
Written by
Jimmy Sangster
David Knight
Henry Baxter
Moira Redmond
Grace Maddox
Jennie Linden
Janet Freeman
Brenda Bruce
Mary Lewis
George A. Cooper
John
I
Irene Richmond
Mrs. Gibbs
Timothy Bateson
Hotel Bartender
Court is in session
Put Nightmare on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.