Horror Movie Review: The Nest (1988)

Based off the novel by Eli Cantor (under the pseudonym of Gregory A Douglas), The Nest is a 1988 horror about flesh-eating cockroaches.

The 80s…what a time for horror fans. Such imagination & such risks taken. Anything & Everything could be turned into a horror movie, why not the simple cockroach? Unfortunately The Nest chooses to retell a story that we’ve seen hundreds of times before.

In the small island town of North Point, pets are disappearing & the local populace are seeing an increase in household roaches. The local Sheriff (Frank Luz) is dealing with what he can but his problems increase when his high school sweetheart, Elizabeth comes back to town.

Elizabeth (Lisa Langlois) is the daughter of the mayor, a shady character who is working with the INTEC company, an evil corporation responsible for the mutated cockroaches. When people start dying from roach attacks it’s up to the Sheriff & Elizabeth to uncover the truth & stop the roaches from destroying the town.

Sound familiar? Admittedly it’s a tried & tested story formula. The Nest doesn’t even try to tell anything new. It sticks rigidly to the basics with the occasional cockroach related horror breaking up the boorish moments.

The acting is mixed at best, the leads do perfectly fine but the supporting cast are seriously forgettable. It’s easy to forgive them though as the characters are literally cut from far better creature features.

The biggest flaw in They Nest, beyond the story, is just how poorly it is shot. Far too dark, it’s frustrating to watch & struggle to see what is going on a lot if the time.

Fans of the genre will certainly find things to enjoy here. It takes far too long to really get going but once it does (the final 20 minutes or so) the silliness factor ramps up. Animal/roach & human/roach hybrids will definitely put a smile on your face.