Twisted Nerve
Directed by Roy BoultingMartin Durnley is a young man with an infantilizing mother, resentful stepfather and an institutionalized brother with Down's syndrome. To cope, he retreats into an alternate child personality he calls Georgie. After being caught during a theft attempt at a department store, he befriends a female customer who is sympathetic to him, but his friendship soon turns into obsession.
Cast of Twisted Nerve
Twisted Nerve Ratings & Reviews
- Dagmar D.5d agoI really enjoyed watching this movie, to see Beautiful and talented actors is a plus . Thanks Plex!
- Matthias_812September 17, 2025Another late 60's British psychological thriller, seems like these were hot at this time. Twisted Nerve is one of the darker examples of the cycle and quite harrowing for the decade. It’s not as lurid as the Italian gialli brewing just a few years later, nor as slick as Hollywood’s psycho-thrillers. The film uses exploitation of mental illness as a plot device that I'm sure had to be controversial of the time- even more so today. Unlike Hammer’s gothic monsters, Twisted Nerve suggests the real monster is the seemingly ordinary young man next door. Not as shocking a concept by today's standards. Twisted Nerve may lack the polish of Psycho or the raw intensity of Peeping Tom, but it embodies a transitional moment when horror was shifting from suspense to more disturbing territory.
- Kevin WardJuly 1, 2025I was not familiar with this era of Hayley Mills filmography (post Pollyanna/Parent Trap, pre Miss Bliss/Saved by the Bell). So that, and Tarantino’s commandeering of the whistle score for Kill Bill had had me intrigued for a while. All in all. This was a pretty solid thriller. Controversial in it’s time for it’s thematics on chromosomal abnormalities and criminal behavior, but honestly there’s all kinds of dialogue that ranged from casually racist to misogynist to lots of other -ists. Still, at the center of it all is Mills, wholesome as ever as Susan, who’s being stalked by a boy essentially because she showed him some kindness and he showed her some dong. My goodness was not expecting Susan’s mommy to be as hospitable to little Georgie boy. There’s some funny moments, too. I think I died when the doctors are like “oh, you’re on your bed pan right now? 😬 I think we’re gonna bounce then.” Overall, I liked this more than I expected. A few more kills would have been nice but that’s kind of par for the course for a 60’s slasher. This definitely has me curious to check out some of Mills’ other thrillers from this era,
