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[BD Review] ‘The Nest’ is Gross in a Good Way

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Reviewed by Patrick Cooper

Until I moved from New England to Florida, I never saw a cockroach in person. About one year after moving into my apartment, I started seeing them everywhere. They were small suckers – German cockroaches, they tell me. Some of the hardest to kill. A few times I’ve seen ones the size they are in The Nest and it was terrifying. Before I could clobber one particular beast with a shoe, it turned its head, looked me right in the eye, and hissed. I hate cockroaches.

Director Terence H. Winkless’ (Power Rangers) The Nest features mutated, unstoppable hoards of these loathsome, already unstoppable creatures. They buzz and eat their way through a small coastal town as they gain strength and transform into the hybrid from hell encountered during the film’s climax. The film cruises along at high speed along with the cockroaches – never deviating from creature-feature conventions. Straightforwardness isn’t a bad thing if done well and The Nest is done very well.

Franc Luz stars as Sheriff Tarbell. He’s awakened by a call from the station concerning weird happenings in town. As he’s getting ready to head out, he finds a cockroach in his coffee. The infestation has begun! After making some rounds, he heads to the airport to pick up his old flame, Beth (Lisa Langlois). She’s the daughter of the town’s scowling mayor who’s hiding a secret involving the Intec Corporation and secret mutant roach experiments. One of the worst kind of secrets, in my book.

Roaming masses of roaches quickly overrun the town. They’re foreshadowed by loud hissing, disappearing meat at the grocery store, and bloody animal carcasses. Then bodies start piling up rapidly as the roaches take over more parts of town. It’s up to Sheriff Tarbell, Beth, and a greasy exterminator to find out what Intec was up to, slay the queen, and destroy the nest.

Dr. Morgan Hubbard (Terri Treas – Alien Nation) is also in town. Her character is the mad scientist who worked on the roach mutations. She’s damn near sexually aroused by the strength of the cockroaches. Even when they’re chewing up her hand to a bloody pulp she just stares at them in awe. She begrudgingly helps the Sheriff despite the fact that she loves her precious mutant roaches. She should marry one!

Regardless of its straightforward story and stock characters, everything in The Nest is solid. The cozy small-town atmosphere is nicely developed and its inhabitants – from the diner waitress to the junkyard man – are all suitable for the setting. It’s easy to root for them, y’know? Sheriff Tarbell’s pleasant relationship with the townsfolk is believable and it makes since that he would risk his life to save them. Sure you could say that about most fictional cops, but Franc Luz has a way of carrying himself in that uniform that makes you think, “yeah, he does give a shit about these people.”

This is definitely a horror film that knows its limitations and its audiences. There are no forced statements about society or small town politics. It’s just a simple man vs. monster story done very well. The terror builds up nicely from the roach in the coffee to the giant roach hybrid queen going on a rampage. In between there are plenty of gross out scenes with gore galore. Nothing over-the-top though. The Nest is the third bowl of porridge – just right.

A/V

Scream Factory presents The Nest in 1080p 1.78:1 widescreen with a DTS Master Audio that makes the foreboding hiss of cockroaches damn near deafening at times. The picture looks fantastic with plenty of crisp details and poppy contrasts. It’s one of the best looking releases Scream Factory has put out so far. This is the first time The Nest is available on Blu-ray and in a widescreen format and Scream Factory did a knockout job.

Special Features

The only feature is a commentary with director Terence H. Winkless. He talks about the difficulties of making a cockroach movie, shooting locations, and loads more. Winkless gives a good commentary and fans will definitely want to give it a go.

Exclusives

Exclusive ‘The First Omen’ Featurette Video Previews Connection to the Original Horror Classic

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The Omen

20th Century Studios’ The First Omen is a true prequel to The Omen, arriving almost fifty years after the Richard Donner-directed horror classic introduced Antichrist Damien Thorn and terrified audiences. The film’s legacy is front and center in an exclusive new featurette.

First released in 1976, The Omen stars Gregory Peck as affluent diplomat Robert Thorn. It begins on June 6, at 6 am in Rome, where Robert Thorn learns his newborn has died, and the Church convinces him to accept an orphaned infant in its place. Robert’s wife, Kathy (Lee Remick), is none the wiser.

As the child, Damien, turns five, it coincides with a wave of strange happenings and coincidences that leads Robert down a harrowing journey where he’ll discover his adoptive son may be the Antichrist.

Written by David SeltzerThe Omen was a massive commercial success upon release in theaters. Donner injected plenty of dread and shocking deaths, but the film also earned its place in the pantheon of horror classics for an unsettling performance by child actor Harvey Spencer Stephens as Damien and a number of iconic scenes, including the “All for You, Damien!” hanging that arrives a mere 13 minutes into the film.

Watch the featurette below to learn more about The Omen‘s legacy and its connections to the upcoming prequel, The First Omen.

Nell Tiger Free (“Servant”) stars in The First Omen, alongside Tawfeek Barhom (“Mary Magdalene”), Sonia Braga (“Kiss of the Spider Woman”), Ralph Ineson (The Witch, Onyx the Fortuitous), and Bill Nighy (“Living”).

In the film, “When a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, she encounters a darkness that causes her to question her own faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.”

The new movie is directed by Arkasha Stevenson, based on characters created by David Seltzer (“The Omen”), with a story by Ben Jacoby (“Bleed”) and a screenplay by Tim Smith & Arkasha Stevenson and Keith Thomas (Firestarter).

The First Omen releases in theaters on April 5, 2024.

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