Review

  • Mutant-insects…isolated little town…gory make-up effects…Yup, `The Nest' looks like a prototype of cheap and redundant 80's horror. But I'm sure that, if you decide to give it a chance after all, you won't regret it. ! The obvious aspect to-love about it is the gore, naturally, but the screenplay actually contains some sub-plots and ingenious elements that you wouldn't immediately expect in a low-budget production like this. Northport is small, peaceful island outside L.A suddenly infested by a deadly plague of cockroaches. A mysterious female scientist arrives on the island and the mayor acts very ignorant about the on-growing bug problem. Events escalate into a true disaster when the cockroaches attack and devour inhabitants of the island and, if this isn't worse enough, mutate into what they eat. Looks like a genetic experiment gone horribly wrong? `The Nest' has tension and atmosphere, accompanied by a bit of good black humor and decent acting performances. Horror insiders might recognize Robert Lansing in the role of ignorant mayor, as he previously appeared in `Empire of the Ants'. The show is stolen, however, by Terri Treas as the morbid Dr. Hubbard. The creators of `The Nest' obviously learned a lot from watching horror highlights as `The Fly' and `Them!' but the film offers enough amusement to stand by itself. I certainly enjoyed it better than the similar `Mimic', which was made almost ten years later. If you're a sucker for gore-goodies, check out `the Nest'