The Nest is really just another 'nature run amock' horror flick that fails because of the low budget. The acting is OK, and the setting is great, but somehow the whole film just seemed a bit dull to me. The gore effects are not the best I've seen but are fun in a cheesy sort of way. The roaches themselves are just regular cockroaches that bite people. The Nest reminded me of a much better film called Slugs. If you liked The Nest then Slugs is a must-see as it's ten times better. Also worth noting is that Lisa Langlois who plays Elizabeth was in another 'nature run amock' type film called Deadly Eyes (aka The Rats), which is about killer rats as you may have guessed. If you enjoy these types of horror films then you may want to give this a watch, but you'd be far better off seeing Slugs which is far more interesting and gory.

Richard Tarbell (Franc Luz) plays the local Sheriff on a small island just off the coast of California called North Port. He is dating a waitress who works in the local diner. However, his ex and Mayor Elias Johnson's (Robert Lansing) daughter Elizabeth (Lisa Langlois) flies back into town. It turns out the Mayor has allowed a company called 'INTEC' and Dr. Morgan Hubbard (Terri Treas) to conduct genetic experiments, the purpose of which are to create the ultimate pest control that doesn't use pesticides or sprays, genetically altered cockroaches that are supposed to eat other roaches, although it's never explained how these roaches themselves would be controlled, maybe no one thought about that small point. Unfortunately these roaches eat everything else as well. First turning cats and dogs into skinless carcasses, eating all the meat from the local store and all the glue that binds the books together in the public library! They seem to be everywhere and the local exterminator Homer (Stephen Davis) can't cope. The Mayor summons Hubbard from 'INTEC' and demands she stops her work. They soon discover that these genetically created roaches mutate from generation to generation and are starting to become resistant to all scientific attempts to destroy them, and start to become disgusting hybrids of themselves and what they've eaten. Hubbard convinces Mayor Johnson that she can destroy the roaches, and prevents him from evacuating the town at the expense of wild hysteria even though the entire town has been eaten by the roaches except sheriff Tarbell, the Mayor, Dr. Hubbard, Elizabeth and Homer, but he has already ordered the chemical spraying of the town, fearing the roaches will spread to the mainland, with a lethal dose of poison that would also be fatal to any person still left on the island, and they need to turn the lighthouse on to cancel it, but predictably the light doesn't work. So the remaining survivors must either stop or face both mutant killer cockroaches and a lethal dose of chemical poison! They must find the roaches nest and destroy the queen before it's too late. Directed by Terence H. Winkless this is a decent, solid effort. The script by Robert King based on a novel by Eli Cantor is a bit on the talky side, and the sub-plot involving the suicide of Elizabeth's mother goes nowhere and is totally unnecessary and irrelevant. Why, when they find the nest, does it contain a box with loads of explosives and a timer? Where did it come from? Not the sort of thing you just leave lying around. There is also a bizarre scene toward the end, sheriff Tarbell and Homer are sat in a car discussing the queen and what they might find when they enter the roaches nest, half way through their conversation the sheriff pulls his gun out points it at the dashboard and fires a shot off. Why does he shoot the dashboard when he was in the middle of a perfectly calm conversation with someone? Why waste a bullet when earlier on he had seen what a couple of the mutant roaches had become? Why not save the bullet to protect himself against anything he might find in the nest? I haven't got a clue and I can't think of a reasonable explanation, the scene still baffles me! The effects are variable, there's one or two good gore scenes, mostly involving skinned animals and mutilated corpses. When a mutant half roach/half whatever it's eaten shows up the special effects are less successful. Their just really stiff and lifeless puppets with one operator on each arm, they have almost no movement whatsoever. Although the human to mutant roach transformation sequence is quite gooey and gross looking. For what it's worth the video released by MGM in the UK has a shot from this sequence on the cover of the box that doesn't actually appear in the finished film, it was probably never included in any released version but proves that more footage of this was shot. Hubbard's death at the hands of her own creation at the end also contains pleasing amounts of slime, gore, blood and a giant monster consisting of a mass of body parts from various humans and animals. Acting, photography, and music are all OK but nothing exceptional, professional enough. Decent horror film, just a little dull and silly in places. Worth a rent for horror fans, or even better watch it on T.V. if it's on, for free.

This movie here called The Nest is a decent horror film. The cast performs well and it includes Robert Lansing, Lisa Langlois, Franc Luz, Terri Treas, and Jack Collins. The special effects are good. There are some really gory effects in this picture and should be enough for the big horror fan. Someone who doesn't like horror may think this film is too much on several categories but this is a horror movie fan's and a roach lover's dream come true! The music is good. There aren't many films like this one. In fact there are very few and I don't think they make em like this anymore. Back in the 1980s this was made and that great decade allowed films like this to be created. This is a very different movie and if you are a horror fan, insect movie lover, and/or a fan of any of the cast members I mentioned above then watch The Nest!

I am so glad this film was made a few years AFTER I graduated from college -- the apartments on campus were so badly infested with cockroaches I wrote a regular column in the housing newsletter called "Roach World" offering helpful tips on roach control. If The Nest would have been made during that time I would have run screaming off that campus altogether! Never have I seen insects so menacing in a film! It's perfect for making the viewer feel uneasy and checking in cabinets and under the kitchen sink for weeks after.Rather than try to be seriously scientific like Phase IV or the just plain "what the...." mentality of Squirm, The Nest gives us that good old "genetic experiment gone wrong" scenario and just RUNS with it. Conveniently containing the terror to an island, there's enough carnage for several films put together. Even the big confrontation, as wacky as it looks, manages to keep you riveted. I've seen it all in films, but one thing that can still get me unglued is something horrible happening to animals, and while I'm sure there was no harm to any REAL animals in the making of this film, the effects work was so gruesome I still wince when watching it! Nothing and no one is safe from the spreading cockroaches, and the viewer is not given much time to relax. If you're going to do an over-the-top bug movie, this is a good one to learn from....this is from the days before CGI took over and made things look like an upgraded cartoon.I must comment about one particular reviewer here on IMDb that felt there was no counterbalance of humour or "naked babes," saying it was scary but too gross. Excuse me, but a film about killer cockroaches (yes, even the X-Files went that route) is bound to be a bit gruesome and you might as well have a thrill ride with it. You don't have to have laughs in EVERY horror film, nor do you have to have naked women. Start considering that there are other folks out here, and that breast-on-the-brain guys don't necessarily run the world. Most films throw in laughs and nudity in order to cover up the fact that the scares are lacking. The Nest is potent with dread and scary moments, so if you want your share of gratuitous nudity and guffaws then watch any of the drek made from Troma and have a field day! Frankly, I'm happy that at least some films like The Nest that have been released under the eye of Roger Corman managed to escape his usual need to throw in breasts at any possible moment. You don't know how many times I've heard female friends of mine saying, "Okay, if the guys get to see the boobs, where are the men's butts for US??" Talk about balance, then turnabout IS fair play, guys... Some films lose their power over the years or after a couple viewings, but The Nest never loses its effectiveness. My only complaint about it is that on DVD as part of the "Roger Corman Classics" series, Corman and the folks at New Concorde should treat us and the films they release with a bit more respect by not settling for no-frills, full-frame DVDs (a scary trend that even Artisan DVDs heading towards). The Nest would have been better suited with a few extras and widescreen treatment (if it wasn't a 1:33 to 1 ratio to begin with)...Corman could learn a thing or two from Anchor Bay (and even MGM) -- they at least give even some of the silliest films audio commentaries and other features like widescreen. The Nest is a classic piece of gruesome cinema and should be experienced to the fullest!And yeah, what's up with that woman's hair?