User reviews

To be honest, I had too much whiskey prior to and during my viewing of this killer cockroach taking over a small town film, so key plot points remain a blur. That's fine, so when I view it again in a few years under the same circumstances it will be like a first viewing. While the film never lives up to the absurdly tasteless poster of a 5 ft tall roach mounting a scantily clad woman, it's still a fun cheesy creature feature. Throw in a mad scientist, a wacky exterminator and a whole lot of insect action and this ranks as one of the better late 80s output from Corman. The Scream Factory blu-ray seems to have put in more effort restoring the best looking version of this film, than the filmmakers put into making the actual film.

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'

Ants dont scare me,and nor do spiders.But roaches are the one thing that freak me out. I think this movie had good special effects for 1988,and I thought it had a good cast of character actors.A good companion to this movie is the bug [1975] which has a similar plot about killer roaches.

This flick is the Ultimate in Mutant Cockroach Terror! I love this one! Easily one of the best Roger Corman productions from the 80's! Sure it has a cheesy 80's synthesizer-score and displays ditto wardrobe and hairdos. But it also has a decent plot, well-drawn-out characters and... great gross gore effects! It follows the rules of a creature feature by the book, and the film benefits a lot from it. The puppetry and 'animatronics' might be rather static (not very lively), but the creature design is rather great and the 'mayor-roach' transformation scene is major fun to watch! There's also a 'cat-roach' in it, and just wait until you (briefly) see the final 'Über-mutant-roach' (which for some reason always reminds me of the final creature we get to see in John Carpenters "The Thing")! If you like all the afore-mentioned ingredients, then seek this baby out and have fun with it.

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.

This movie is definately worth watching. Right from the start you see the roaches & all throughout the movie there was enough killing & blood to keep me interested which was amazing to me because I was expecting this movie to be a bomb. Has some great scenes with animal killings & the effects weren't bad at all. The movie keeps up a good pace & held my interest almost to the end. I've seen this movie a few times & with about 15 minutes to go I always get bored so that's why I wouldn't rate it any higher than a 7. One thing that was very annoying, though, was Elizabeth's hair. Didn't people own mirrors in 1988?

I am the first to say that we need more good horror flicks. But, in my opinion, a horror movie has to have a balance between gross things and alluring things in order to keep the emotions of the viewer from swinging quickly into a state of disgust, which makes the movie worthless. The Nest has the first part down right: you got your mutant cockroaches that eat everybody in sight, two rather nasty animal killing scenes, and the cockroach queen that I think is a masterpiece of grossness. Unfortunately, there is no counterbalance: there is almost no comic relief, absolutely no naked babes, and no smart dialogues. The outcome is a pure terror movie that scares you, disgusts you, but doesn't leave a good after-taste.

If The Nest were to be made today, its creepy crawlies and gore would be CGI; thankfully, it was made in 1988, before computer generated imagery ruled Hollywood, meaning that it features real bugs and practical effects. Not very good practical effects, granted, but still a whole lot more fun than soulless digital trickery.

In terms of plot, this killer-insect B-movie is very routine: an island community comes under threat from flesh-eating cockroaches, the creatures genetically engineered by an unscrupulous corporation. It serves up all of the expected clichéd characters, from the misguided mayor (Robert Lansing) who allows the insect experimentation to occur, to handsome cop Richard (Franc Luz), who has a monopoly on the island's hot blondes, to Dr. Morgan Hubbard (Terri Treas), the cold, calculating female scientist, to local loony Shakey Jake (Jack Collins), who is destined to have his face eaten.

There are very few surprises to be had, at least until the moment when the insects and their victims morph into hybrids for no discernible reason other than to allow for some crazy creature effects. A cat/cockroach hybrid is hilariously bad, leaping at the humans at lightning speed, the mayor messily transforms into a monster that has its head blown off by a shotgun (wielded by the mayor's tasty daughter, played by Lisa Langlois), and the roach 'queen' consists of several mangled human heads atop a human/insect body (the heads looks suitably gnarly, but the thing moves mechanically and appears to be on castors). The best (and bloodiest) effect is saved until last, as the queen uses its mandibles to slice off the top of Dr. Hubbard's head!

Very similar in vein to the similarly titled 2000 TV movie They Nest (which also sees cockroaches threatening the inhabitants of an island), only more schlocky.

5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

Unimaginatively directed, often preposterous horror/sci-fi film that borrows heavily from a lot of other movies - but mainly from "The Birds", "The Fly" (it's here that the movie gets really preposterous) and "Alien". It isn't terrible, but it isn't successful, either. Even if you seriously hate cockroaches , this movie isn't really going to scare you.

In the sleepy island town of North Port, not much ever happens. Sheriff Richard Tarbell (Franc Luz) seems to have the easiest job in town. His only complication in life is whether to be involved with local waitress, Lillian (Nancy Morgan) or the mayor's daughter, Beth (Lisa Langlois). That is, until a gruesome discovery turns out to be the beginning of a coming slaughter.

Mayor Elias Johnson (Robert Lansing- 4D MAN, EMPIRE OF THE ANTS, ISLAND CLAWS) appears to know what's going on, having to do with a certain scientific installation called INTEC and its heartless Dr. Morgan Hubbard (Terri Treas). INTEC has been up to no good, attempting to create super-roaches for nefarious purposes. Grisly, disgusting horror ensues.

THE NEST is the perfect movie for the carnivorous cockroach connoisseur! Bug haters beware! These pests are shown in crawling piles and gobs! So, if insects make you squirm, and death by flensing isn't your thing, avoid this film!

BEST SCENES: #1- The diner cook in the dumpster! #2- Lillian defending the diner against the six-legged horde! #3- Oh yes! The mutant, cat roach! #4- Mayor Roach-enstein! #5- The hopelessly rushed final conflict!

Preposterous beyond all reason, this is 1980's schlock horror at its finest! Bon Appetit...

Five stars puts it well ahead of syfy''s featuring crawlies, but doesn't exaggerate its craftsmanship.

There are countless bugs in this film. The first scene alone is jam-packed, but the action doesn't get going until you're fed a whole lotta character development that is less than compelling.. But then, BOOM All of a sudden you've got a real film on your hands that don't play around. -Rare bonus star for those with subtitles on toward the end of the film for "eggs squelching"

Easy take, entertaining, But no need to watch this again

I first saw this in the late 80s on a vhs. Revisited it recently.

I had liked it then, specially the effects were cool for those days.

Most of the kills r offscreen but it is bloody n gory.

In this the mayor of the town along with a scientist is able to create a supercockroach so that it eats other cockroaches thereby saving the usage of pesticides but that same man is unable to open a door, push aside the cloth piece n then shut the door.

The lol proboscis shud definitely be checked out.

This movie is another case of having a very misleading poster of that a girl in underwear being ravaged by a giant cockroach.

I rated The Nest (1988) 6/10. While this is as goofy as you think it would be, this is surprisingly a decent horror movie. I'm actually surprised this is not a more highly regarded classic, but I am glad to see it has received a nice restoration.

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?

This is one of my favourite mutant bug movies from the 80s, the special effects range from being pretty good to downright terrible, the acting is solid enough and the story about mutated cockroaches is actually pretty good. This is a pure, park your brain somewhere , grab some popcorn and settle in type of movie. There's no deep message here like there was in Prophecy about how humans were and are toxifying the planet. This is just pure fun.

This is much better than a lot of the nature rans wild movies, but it doesn't pretend to be anything intellectual. The actors are all likable and doesn't dip too heavily into toxic male behaviour that so many of these films often did. (Yes Rattlers, I am looking at you.) All up this is a fun monster movie that still holds up all these years later.

This mediocre sci-fi horror flick concerns hungry roaches chowing down on the residents of an island-based town. The story is absolutely standard to these types of things, and this one offers nothing new to horror fans, as the gore piles up. Not especially gory, although it definitely has its moments, and there is an eyeball scene that Lucio Fulci would be proud of. Despite this, this is not an especially good, or thrilling flick. Really for genre fans only.