The Nest (1988) (Blu-ray/DVD Review)
Directed By: Terrence H. Winkless
Starring: Robert Lansing, Lisa Langlois, Franc Luz
Rated: R/Region: A/1×78/Number of dics: 2
Available from Scream Factory
Horrifying shocker as a biological experiment goes haywire when meat-eating mutant roaches invade an island community, terrorizing a peaceful New England fishing village and hideously butchering its citizens.
This underappreciated gem from the 80s takes some of the creepiest crawliest bugs on the planet, roaches, and turns them into some evil little mofos in The Nest. The characters we get here might be a little typical, but the story isn’t. These roaches are terrorizing people on an island and they can eat away their prey in a matter of moments. Making things even cooler they can blend their DNA to make other creatures as the film borrows this from The Thing to give us some awesome monster moments here. The movie may at certain times seem to be going through the motions but when it does deliver it delivers BIG.
A movie like this isn’t by any means perfect. If you nitpick at it you could find a lot of flaws, but it would be just that to point them out, nitpicking. This movie is meant to be fun, campy, bloody, and an all-around trip into the depths of what made 80s horror memorable. It doesn’t explode out of the gate, but it makes you happy you decided to watch it as the movie goes along. What we get is heads being eaten, arms being torn off, body mutation, and countless other fun moments with these darn bugs. If you’ve never seen, The Nest, I’d recommend that you do.
– Commentary by writer/director Terrence H. Winkless
