The Nest [Blu-ray]

This is in many ways the same movie as the relatively more successful Mimic, only made years earlier. As much as I consider Guillermo Del Toro's job a whole lot more stylized and "hip," as it is the case with most of his movies including The Shape of Water, his "version" feels too pretentious and pre-digested for an audience who wants to feel more intelligent,"empowered" and concerned about "relevant issues" by watching award-winning films by somebody from the "minority," finally getting a break in Hollywood. On the other hand, this little monster flick comes from a long tradition to which schlock classics such as Food of the Gods, Killer Shrews and countless others belong, it shows and, telling by how formulaic the unfolding of the story is and how the characters are cast from the same old mold as its predecessors (mad doctor and all included), is not ashamed of it. However, it did a hell of a better job in grossing me out, as much as it did back when I rented the videotape. As someone who grew up in the eighties and being such a skeptical in repackaging the same product for a "new generation," I say "why fix it if it ain't broke?"The only upgrade I dig is the transfer into blu-ray. That does beat my old, worn out VHS copy by a long shot, even if there's only an audio comment by none other than the director himself. Keep them coming!

The 80's had many horror movies and this is one of the best. Decent acting, great (and gross) special effects and well a really great monsters. If bugs give you the creeps then this is the movie for you. I have started collecting 80's horror and this was one of the 1st to make my list.

Director Terence H. Winkless (from Illinois originally, not born and raised in the land of celluloid) guides this roach-infested monster flick under the banner of Roger Corman's company, who saved what was (seemingly) an already flailing project. Initially started before Winkless came aboard the production (Winkless discusses, on his very informative audio commentary track, how he got chosen as the director--basically because no one else really desired to make a picture about cockroaches!), Corman eventually put Winkless under contract, and managed to get the lovely and gorgeous Lisa Langlois to come aboard (I didn't even realize she was in this picture until after I ordered it, but I was pleasantly surprised--jackpot!). This is a standard, let's experiment with the cockroaches on an abandoned island type of story, but overall the picture is a lot of fun to watch. There are some creative gore effects, not too much profanity, and some really humorous moments (and outrageously misplaced dialogue). Winkless mentions that the movie was inspired by "The Fly"--and one scene in particular is purely derivative of that earlier film. But other than that, the cat-roach creature, and the final monstrosity that appears near the climax, is worth the price of admission alone. The real reason to purchase this neat little Blu-Ray/DVD reissue of THE NEST is to listen to the director's commentary. He mentions that the production basically included his friends and some family members (probably any director's preferred way of casting!), and that, if cell phones had been around so prevalently in these older days, Winkless wouldn't have gotten the job because some top brass at the company never officially approved of him to direct at all! But we must not dwell upon the wonderful old days of loose and independent free market filmmaking, else we might wind up getting depressed. And THE NEST, despite a few animals in distress moments, is not a joyless picture at all. It is clichéd at times, and it basically follows a kind of outdoor adventure scenario (with many interior scenes kept brief), but overall it is a worthwhile B-movie. Especially when we start to get more creatures after the rather lugubrious first half.Somewhat tragically, Scream Factory neglected to track down and include an audio (or even video) interview with the author of the original source novel, Eli Cantor (1913-2006) (who published fiction under the pseudonym Gregory A. Douglas), a cultural item that would have been worth something to us nerds. Cantor was a successful businessman, a composer (one of his string quartets was choreographed by the Sarasota Ballet of Florida, and later performed), a writer, and even an artist/sculptor. His early short stories also won acclaim by literary folks, and his interest in journalism even led him into a career as a fiction editor at a major magazine. According to Cantor's daughter, the man was pleased with this movie (though it didn't really follow his novel very closely), and it's a shame that we didn't get his thoughts about his work being adapted for film. Winkless doesn't bother mentioning the source novel on his audio commentary track, but really the project had become a movie before he signed on to direct it so I don't blame him for not talking about a field that isn't his own in the first place (i.e., the buying of source novels for film projects). In addition, I think a new interview from Corman would have been nice to see as well, but, sadly, THE NEST has come up short in terms of extras. But Winkless provides a tremendously informative audio commentary track, if you are interested in film studies. The director mentions everybody from the continuity writer to the editor to the Corman connection, and it's all detailed verbally in this wonderful extra. If you are wondering how directors work in this business, this commentary track goes a long way towards explaining how the hiring and firing process works for independent movies, and a reliable bean field hand like Winkless really does know his stuff (Winkless mentions that people who watch this kind of movie "don't care whether or not the cat gets killed"...uh, I have to take umbrage with that comment! But this is a genre picture, so we all know what to expect, after all.) Other than that, the picture has great sound and a pretty decent picture transfer overall. If you like this kind of thing, what are you waiting for? Upgrade! B+ (for the whole thing)

With a cover like that and Roger Corman's name on it, where was the nudity?! Overall all it was an okay horror film that had clips from Humanoids from the Deep edited in. And one hell of a monster at the end.

This is a great cheesy 80s creature feature. The visual effects in this film are way better than a lot of films from the era that are more well-known.

a quaint little creature feature from way back when practical effects reigned supreme. The glorious 80s

Poor Robert Lansing was the only actor in this movie, and unfortunately it didn't much have a screenwriter. If you think of it as a pulp-style horror comic book you're watching, then it's a much easier viewing. It's got some decent moments, just enough to salvage a second star of its two-star rating. It's a late 1980s period piece that wants to be "Jaws" but with cockroaches and by [Roger] Corman. It's fun enough, I guess.

Holds up really well, especially in terms of the special effects.