6 ‘Nightmare’ TV Movies Sure to Give You Guilty Pleasure Thrills

John Griffiths March 22, 2019, 4:00 pm

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Any flick with Nightmare in the title is a guilty pleasure–seeker’s dream.

In March 22’s Nightmare Tenant, the crazy starts when single mom Carol (The Young and the Restless fave Lauralee Bell) — whose daughter, Lacey (Heather Hopkins, above right, with Bell), is away at an Ivy League school — decides to take in a boarder. Faster than you can say “Didn’t you see Michael Keaton in Pacific Heights?” murderous student Nikki (Virginia Tucker) has moved in.

For more thrills, stream these genre classics:

Lauralee Bell on Lifetime's 'Nightmare Tenant' & Christine's 'Young & the Restless' Courtroom Drama

Babysitter’s Nightmare

Lifetime Movie Club, YouTube

Amid winks to Scream, Daphne (Brittany Underwood of One Life to Live) babysits a sick boy in a mansion while his parents are away for a funeral. What was that noise? Who’s that outside? Why do we feel like the unveiled villain in this 2018 outing would make even Scooby-Doo snicker?

Cheerleader Nightmare

Lifetime Movie Club

A cheerleader is murdered, and photography student Sophie (Taylor Murphy) is on the case! The real guilty party in this 2018 thriller: Sophie’s boyfriend, Tyler (Jeremy Shada), who spouts such ridiculous lines as “I know how people look at me—like I’m trash, like I’m some loser juvenile delinquent!”

A Mother’s Nightmare, A Father’s Nightmare

Amazon Video, YouTube

90210’s Jessica Lowndes proved so bizarro in 2012 as Vanessa, an orphaned psychopath who delights in convincing teens with parents to kill themselves, she scored a 2018 sequel! First she toys with impressionable jock Chris (The Flash’s Grant Gustin). Then, post–mental ward, she’s out to ruin gymnast Lisa (Kaitlyn Bernard). Can Chris’s still-miffed mom (a returning Annabeth Gish) save the day?

911 Nightmare

Amazon Video, YouTube

Fiona Gubelmann (The Good Doctor) stars in this 2016 riff on Halle Berry’s big-screen hit The Call. As Christine, a cop assigned to the 911 phones, she’s intent on solving a little boy’s murder. (See, when the victim’s friend called for help, Christine thought he was just “messing around.”) The climax, alas, is more night-meh.

A Wife’s Nightmare

Amazon Video, YouTube

Jennifer Beals adds juice to this unsettling 2014 story as Liz, whose nerves are rattled when nubile teen Caitlin (Lola Tash) shows up claiming Liz’s husband, Gabe (Dylan Neal), is her father. Oh-kay…but Caitlin sure seems to be flirty with “Dad,” not to mention her supposed half-brother, AJ (Spencer List). Unpredictable to the end!