The Night Nurse: learn about the macabre case that inspired the film
The film arrived on Netflix this Wednesday (26) The Night Nurse, starring Eddie Redmayne and Jessica Chastain. The film tells the story of a nurse who confessed to murdering more than 40 people receiving medical care at the hospitals where he worked.
What some people don’t know, however, is that the bizarre plot was inspired by a real case. Discover below the story of Charles Cullen, the serial killer who inspired the film.
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Case that based the movie
Charles Cullen is known for being one of the most victimized serial killers in the history of New Jersey and the United States.
After a very difficult childhood and adolescence – with numerous suicide attempts – Cullen dropped out of high school and enlisted in the Navy. Upon leaving the company, he took a nursing course and began working at a hospital in New Jersey.
Charles Cullen confessed to killing more than 40 people in hospitals in the US (Photo: Reproduction / AP)
There, he committed his first murder: a judge in the emergency room. Cullen confessed to administering a lethal dose of medication intravenously. In this hospital, he claims to have killed at least 11 people, but quit his job when directors began investigating the deaths.
After that, Charles worked at two more hospitals – where he killed more than ten patients – until he arrived at Elston Hospital. It was at this hospital that a co-worker accidentally found unused medicine bottles in the trash.
In 2003, Charles Cullen confessed to the murders and has since served a life sentence in Pennsylvania.
The film
The Netflix film is directed by the Danish Tobias Lindholm, responsible for The hunt and Druk. The cast, in addition to Eddie Redmayne and Jessica Chastain, are Kim Dickens, Niiah Emmerich and Nnamdi Asomugha. Check out the movie trailer:
