Rare Flix: The Nest (1988)

Bugs!  Insects!  Creepy crawlies!  Today's Film is The Nest, a 1988 Film Produced by Roger Corman('s Company).  I don't think that the esteemed Mr. Corman was much of a hands-on guy for Films like this, but they are from his Company.  So what is this hard-to-find Film about?  Cockroaches.  Meat-eating, super-smart Cockroaches.  Who made them?  Science- that's who!  While Roger didn't have much to do with this Film directly (as far as I can tell), there are alot of familiar things about this one.  Coastal Town- check.  Ugly, gross Monsters- check.  Local Sheriff as a Hero- big check!  There's more, but I'll save it for the official Review.  This is one of those lopsided Films with not much for the first Hour and then overkill for the last Half Hour.  Is the sum total of the Film worth it though?  To find out, Raid on...

In this small, Coastal Town, everything seems to be pretty quiet.  At least, on the surface..

The Mayor- who has a dark past involving a dead wife- has been letting Scientists experiment in his Town.  They have been messing with a certain kind of bug.

In Town, the mice and roach problem seems to be getting worse.  Outside, a body is found covered in a weird substance.

To keep the Budget down, please enjoy these POV Attacks for the first Hour.  Yea.

Naturally, the Scientist behind it all is a Woman, since there's one in Humanoids From the Deep and (later) Carnosaur and Piranha (1995)

The experiment involved making killer Cockroaches to kill the current ones.  Shockingly, this failed and now the things eat mammals!  Holy Cane Toads, Batman!

Finally, we get some on-screen Action as the killer Cockroaches finally do something.  Gross.

Grosser still, they can apparently, um, assimilate with what they kill.  For example, this Cat.

Naturally, the logic get sillier as they can take over the Cat after at least a day, while they copy The Mayor in only a few Hours.  Time to clear those sinuses, Dad!

Since they cut back earlier, please enjoy this freaky human-bug-hybrid thing...for a minute, before they blow it up (in Stock Footage from Humanoids from the Deep).  The End.

Pure schlock.  Mind you, it is a mid-80s 'Corman' Film, so what did you expect?  The Plot is about killer Cockroaches- it is not exactly an Art Film.  As such, they don't exactly treat it that way.  The Acting is decent to passable.  The Mayor and the Exterminator are the best Characters here, but still aren't that special.  You get alot of cliche folks here- including the Nosy Old Lady, the Teen Who is Always Wearing Headphones and the Curmudgeonly Guy Who Lives in a Junkyard.  The B-Plot- The Mayor's Daughter is back and she's torn between his deeds and her love interest Sheriff- is nothing special.  It doesn't exactly build to much, other than his freaky transformation.  The real appeal here are the Creatures...when they finally show up.  The mutant Cat is impossible to explain with actual Science, but appropriately-freaky.  Watching The Mayor's transformation is nice and gross too- if even more ridiculous.  The final creature- future 'Silent Hill' stuff- is even more bizarre and interesting.  I do have to note that both this and Mimic feature a Plot about people making 'Cockroaches that eat other roaches and then get smarter,' but are still pretty different overall.  Oddly, Mimic 2 gets closer to this Film- go figure.  If the Film was more about the crazy creatures, it would be alot easier to recommend.  As it is, The Nest is a good example of a New Concorde/New Horizons Film and it will please fans of those.  The more patient of you will get through the slow parts and hopefully enjoy the taste of crazy that this Film has.  As a bonus, it shows how making these things is a family affair...

Next up, another Creature Feature that has been a while coming.  Mystery is fun, so let's have that.  Stay tuned...