The Nest (2021) Poster

(2021)

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4/10
You might need a pot of coffee or two for this one...
paul_haakonsen21 July 2021
Granted, I was lured in to watching the 2021 movie "The Nest" (aka "The Bewailing") given the movie's rather interesting cover/poster, and also because it was a horror movie that I hadn't already seen.

But "The Nest" from writer Jennifer Trudrung and director James Suttles just proved to be a very generic and mundane foray into the creepy crawlers subgenre of the horror genre. Yeah, "The Nest" doesn't really deliver much of anything, aside from a whole lot of nothing happening. And you need to venture about 1 hour and 12 minutes into the movie before it starts becoming mildly interesting, but by that time it was just too little, too late.

Sure, the concept idea behind "The Nest" is interesting, and there definitely is potential for something truly entertaining and disturbing here. But director James Suttles only managed to deliver a sub-par movie here.

While I managed to sit through the entire ordeal, I must admit that I was tempted to get up and walk out on it a couple of times along the way. Why? Well, simply because not enough of anything worthwhile was happening throughout the majority of the movie. And by the time director James Suttles opted to amp up the events, then it was just simply too late.

The acting in the movie was adequate, though it was clear that the actors and actresses were struggling with a sub-par script and storyline. And it didn't really help the movie much that the characters were mostly bland and lacking in-depth personalities.

Sure, they had an okay ensemble of actors and actresses on the cast list here, with even Dee Wallace being here. However, even someone as iconic as her could do only so little to salvage the movie.

The movie's title, "The Nest", sort of is very unfitting for the movie. I would assume that there would have been additional bugs in order for it to be a nest. And especially so since the movie's cover portrayed a heap of insects. But instead I found myself treated to seeing a single insect, and it only popped up at 72 minutes into the ordeal. And it wasn't even worth the wait, very anti-climatic.

It should be said though that the visuals with the teddy bear with the enlarged eyes definitely worked well. Because that teddy bear certainly had something insect-like going on, and I liked that. And the effects when it opened up its belly to unleash the insect inside, definitely also looked good, especially with the good and the sticky residue.

For a horror movie then "The Nest" just failed to be an outstanding, much less being an overly memorable and entertaining horror movie. It simply proved too boring and uneventful, and the movie will just simply slip away into the mists of oblivion without having left any type of lasting impression on me.

I was rather disappointed with this movie, especially since I was looking forward to seeing it, given the movie's cover and the fact that Dee Wallace was in it.

I am rating "The Nest" a rather generous four out of ten stars.
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2/10
Written by body-snatching insects...
ravencorinncarluk9 July 2021
...and clearly not by humans who have ever taken part in doing human things. I mean, who puts their child in therapy because she's 'making up' her stomach aches before taking her to a doctor?

The dialogue is painfully cliched, stilted, and just plain bad. The actors (even Dee Wallace) can't do anything to lift it up out of the garbage. While the director clearly thinks he's doing sublime work, too many of the shots are boring and lack the tension that was clearly the aim. There's a spoiler scene in the opening that pretty much takes away all potential build-up to creepiness, and ruins what could have been an all-right slow burn reveal.

Between the bad acting and the worse dialogue, I had no one that I could sympathize with. The characters were pretty unlikeable, whether they were body snatched or not.

And it was boring. The movie took forever, and not in any type of good way. If what another reviewer said is true that this is two separate stories that were edited together, it really shows. And it manages to do neither of them well. Or even good.
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4/10
Below average creature film with good effects but a bad script.
Vivekmaru4519 December 2021
I have seen plenty of alien/monster horror movies and some have been good and others remarkably bad.

The movie starts of well with good effects but the overall story and poor casting of talentless characters let this film down.

The film is about a girl who buys a stuffed teddy bear not knowing a horrifying creature(or insect) has made a home inside it. As you've guessed it, the girl brings the teddy bear to her home and all hell ensues.

The title of the movie "The Nest" is apt, it shows that instinct of the creature it portrays. Blue Monkey (1987), Slugs(1988), The Nest(1988), Ticks(1993), They Nest(2000) are similar movies.
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3/10
Way too long for what it is
chanin-5461621 October 2021
While it doesn't look or feel like some of the low budget movies usually do, it just goes on way too long. They tried to throw in some unnecessary drama, and dragged on a lot of the rest. 30 minutes easily could have been cut without losing anything. The acting wasn't great but wasn't terrible. Had some creepy/gross parts, but I would not watch it again.
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2/10
No idea what happened
Farfallina781 August 2021
To start, the poster image has nothing to do with the plot of this movie. I was so bored watching and waiting to understand what was going on. It's like Case 39 meets Requiem for a Dream, but not even a 5th as good as either (And Case 39 was not a great movie). Are they trying to make a point about addiction? Was it all illusionary? The end made zero sense and was a grotesque scene just to be grotesque. I strongly do not recommend.
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2/10
I could slap the kid.
rijksderk29 December 2021
This movie was a terrible mess. The cover is very misleading, nothing even close happens in this too long, boring, badly acted and horrorless movie. Worst thing was the kid, after 20000 times "mommy" I was very willing to slap her silly. Avoid this waste of time.
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1/10
DONT WATCH THIS TRASH!
dchickengoesbawk3 August 2021
I was so mad at the waste of time this movie was that I LITERALLY MADE AN ACCOUNT JUST TO EXPRESS HOW GOD AWFUL THIS WAS. I love watching bad movies for the hilarity, but even as a bad movie watch its awful. You see a bug like a whole 4 times in this movie, there is barely any horror to even talk about. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME, you will not get it back!
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8/10
Stays Engaging
When comparing this relative to other recent media, it scores highly.

The plot stays engaging, the actors aren't annoying (even the kid actors do a good job) and you cannot tell which way the ending will finally go

This is worth a watch.
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7/10
I enjoyed it
fairlesssam23 August 2022
This movie has gotten a lot of negative reviews but I really enjoyed it.

The family go to a yard sale at a creepy looking home, the little girl sees a Teddy bear and wants to buy it, the house owner gives it to her for free. You then cut to inside the house, and see what appears to be a mother and her child, covered in sores and mucus, they are communicating by clicks.

The teddy bear is infested with an insect that uses the little girl to do its bidding.

I loved the quirky cast, they worked well together. Although the posters for the movie are a bit misleading, it is still a very good film. You don't see much of the creature and what you do see isn't great by way of realism. However it's still very well produced and effective horror.

I definitely recommend.
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2/10
Best to just skip this one
RandomTard5 October 2021
Now this movie isn't the worst out there. Nothing is done horribly wrong, even acting is somewhat acceptable but not good by any means. The huge issue this movie has, is that is deadly boring. Everything happens slowly and blandly. And you just don't care what happens to these people, they are so generic.
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3/10
Waste of time
zuzumalkawidrake28 July 2021
So boring and not good at all. I regret watching it.
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4/10
They Tried
gab-675999 July 2021
This movie was a low budget that really tried to be likeable but failed terribly. I think the idea was on point and I was truly creeped out. But the actors and the way it was exacted was not believable.

I was hopeful for the movie with the introduction of the therapist named Taylor, online they called him Ashe, but the beginning said they fired Ashe and got Tylor so a bit of confusion there. Anyways, Drez Ryan brought some new energy to the movie and I had hope it would have stay till the end. This movie just took way to long to get to the point, I wished the thing in the bear would hurry up and do whatever it was they were waiting for him to do!

That is not good when you want a movie to be rushed. I defiantly would not watch this with kids around, the one sex scene was hard to watch. Overall, this was just not special or interesting to devote the time into watching, that is my honest opinion. Like always, you should be your own judge. But I know there are much better new movie out there then this!
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5/10
If this is what they did with a small budget, I would love to see what else this team could do
myignisrules12 August 2021
Not to be confused with The Nest that came out in 2020 or the one from 2019 or the television series of the same name, THIS Nest is a horror movie made on a small budget, but one that manages to deliver on the kind of ick factor and body horror that would make David Cronenberg smile.

Starring mostly unknowns and a legit genre staple and Scream Queen in her own right, Dee Wallace (Cujo, The Howling, Critters) this is the kind of horror that plays on those things that make you squirm in your seat. I struggle with trypophobia which simply means irregular patterns or clusters (like a beehive or a rash) triggers me and I have to look away. If this is an issue for you as well, there are scenes here that will definitely set you off but (thankfully?) due to the smaller budget, those scenes only pop up a few times during this ode to body horror. The cast is a small one and consist of mainly three people who play our family unit made up of Mom, Dad and a little girl who is gifted a teddy bear by a weird old man. It turns out the bear has some sort of sentient insect/s living inside it and using the poor child as its host, this parasite starts taking over friends and family members one by one.

The Nest starts off a bit shaky with actors Sarah Navratil and Kevin Patrick Murphy as parents Beth and Jack who take some time to settle into their roles making it difficult to see them as a loving couple. Ironically this awkward chemistry works to their benefit as the story progresses and paranoia over whether or not you can trust each other sets in. Dee Wallace is a horror movie goddess who makes everything she's in that much better. She's not on screen a whole bunch but steals every scene she's in, with my favorites being her interactions with Beth. Besides the main family and Wallace's Marissa, the other actors don't get that much screen time but they do what they're supposed to well enough so I guess that's fine.

Overall this isn't going to please everyone and as I mentioned before, it's a small budget film with limited locations and a handful of actors. But the practical effects by team Kayla Voytek and Jennifer Yates are very well done and combined with the truly stellar sound design by Aaron Putnam, both will crawl under your skin in the worst way. I also enjoyed the fact this movie manages to be its own original thing while still showing inspiration from classics like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Hidden and maybe even a bit of Rosemary's Baby. The themes of motherhood and how difficult it can be as a parent to balance your love for your children and your need to retain your individuality without feeling guilty was well executed and the conclusion was also a ballsy one reminiscent of the more morose horror movies of the 60's and 70's , The Nest will probably be overlooked for more flashy, big budget fare and that's a shame because it's creative writers, directors and artists like these that deserve to be in the spotlight for their work and in doing so, get the big bucks they need to show what they can do to a much larger audience. If you're a horror fan I recommend checking it out because if body horror is your thing, this is a Nest you won't mind visiting.

Score 5.5 out of 10.
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4/10
Wished it was good
FixedYourEnding19 December 2021
Clearly a low-budget film, ok. No money for CGI ok. Maybe don't choose bugs as your main item if you don't have the capability to manifest them on screen, forgivable? Maybe; but what is unforgivable is how boring and UN-interesting most of the 2hrs of this movie are. Grab your coffee, otherwise this movie will put you to sleep, and most likely your dreams will scare you more than this movie, because other than a couple of spots here and there, there is not much happening other than some mediocre acting trying to make sense of a silly plot.

Overall, this is a real time-waster, both for audience and probably for the ppl that worked on this project as well. I'm very much ok with low-budget horror flicks, but this one just dissapoints; including the ending, which is sooooo predictable. I don't want to introduce in any spoilers, but lets just say you can guess it within the first 5 minutes. NOT recommended. Exact score: 35 / 100.
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1/10
Couldn't stay focused
brookkd22226 July 2021
This movie is seriously so dumb. It makes no sense, I have no many questions, and the climax of the end was anticlimactic. Ended up just letting the movie play through while my friends and I play cards against humanity.
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2/10
Dull as dishwater...
saladoor-130 October 2021
And I would rather drink dishwater then watch this again.

Could of been a 40 minute x-file episode and would have been ok!

Acting is ok, but the pace flounders around at such a flat rate that even the mildly attractive school counselor can't save it!

Not good, not good at all.
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6/10
Not too shabby
piggulu6 August 2021
Definitely had the creep factor on high and I couldn't wait for the bug reveal after being teased constantly with the teddy bear. Other than that there's not much to say, the actors did well and the story was intriguing but the movie won't make your evening or stick with you for long.
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1/10
No thank you
harmsan28 September 2021
They tried, they failed. Could have been much better.
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5/10
Decent For the Small Budget and Definitely Has the Creep Factor.
icocleric5 January 2022
The acting isn't the best, but it's not the worst about. The plot is pretty simple too. It was a pretty interesting watch, with a couple of interesting shocks, but you'd probably not revisit the film later.

However it was most certainly very creepy. It has the very important lesson of not ignoring a child's stomach pains! The creatures are really great.
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4/10
Only $89,000? Not bad for low budget horror, but....
realityinmind31 August 2021
The acting is atrocious. Nobody can act, not even the old lady. The school counselors scripted dialog seems like it was written by an actual child psychologist.... some of the words he says to the kid is ridiculous. The set design, cinematography, and sound design are all well done. Luckily the budget couldn't afford CGI, so what little practical effects are done well. But the acting is atrocious.
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1/10
DUCK ME THIS WAS THE WORST MOVIE EVER!!
melvinswagga26 September 2021
This was one of the worst movies Ive ever seen, it lack originality, content and story. Plus it seemed cheap and poorly made. Like godamn they shot the whole movie and approximately two locations.. this was one horror movie that LACKED HORROR. I made this account just to say this, dont bother watching this movie, you'll be greatly disappointed, you could use your time for better things, TRUST ME!
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9/10
Slow burn paranoia fun
JeffAlanT8 July 2021
This indie film about a mother's journey into paranoia, gas lighting, and sacrifices delivers some truly creepy moments.
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3/10
Would be good as a 15 minute short
LewisAugustine18 February 2024
This is one of those movies that would be good if it was a 15 minute segment in a "creep show" type collection of shorts.

As a full length movie it drags on very very badly with tons of pointless, and quite frankly repetitive, dialog between the main characters.

There's virtually no gore or effects. The movie mostly tries to be a suspense thriller with a slow leadup. But they took slow to unnecessary extremes. I nearly quit somewhere around the 1 hour mark during yet another uninteresting dialog. But I stuck it out to the end to see if there was some brilliant twist and regretted that investment of time.
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10/10
Superbly unique and disturbing
garbored1326 July 2021
I really enjoyed the darkness and the creepiness of the Nest. With a great line up of actors and really realistic family dynamics, it sucked me in. Though there were a few spots I felt could have been shaved down, the over all pace of the film was pretty good. The original score definitely adds to it also.
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