| THEY NEST (2000) |
| aka. Creepy Crawlers |
| Directed by Ellory Elkayem. Starring Thomas Calabro, Dean Stockwell, John Savage, and Kristen Dalton. |
| Movies from the 'nature strikes back' genre aren't as common these days as they were in the seventies and eighties, so when one comes along I'm usually interested in seeing it. That's if it's of the low budget direct to video variety of course. So when They Nest premiered on pay t.v. , I had the rare pleasure of seeing a premiere t.v. movie that didn't feature an annoying castmember of one of those derivative sitcoms or teen dramas. Oh no, this movie starred a very different type of cockroach. |
| They Nest begins with Dr. Ben Cahill losing his nerve during an operation in a busy city hospital. Cahill is a George Clooney wannabe, who even sports a George Clooney haircut. His superior orders the Doc to take some time off. Between the separation with his wife (always a neat setup for later romance in any film) , and his battle with the bottle, Ben Cahill is a nervous wreck. |
| So he decides to spend some time at a holiday house he's just bought on a small island off the coast of Maine. Things get off to a rocky start on the island ferry when he offends Jack Wald, who owned the house before the bank took it. But Dr. Cahill has an even bigger problem than offending the neighbours. A body has just washed up with hundreds of flesh eating cockroaches inside it. |
| While cockroaches scurry all over the island looking for victims, the Doc strikes up a relationship with Nell , the young lady who owns the general store. Apparently Nell is the only woman under sixty five on the entire island, and is desperate and dateless despite being surrounded by hordes of horny fishermen who've been stuck on the island for years. This plot point was almost as implausable than flesh eating cockroaches. |
| Although this movie serves up cliche after cliche without a hint of guilt (the townsfolk even blame Dr. Cahill for the deaths), it was the sort of movie that comfortably fits like an old pair of sneakers. The special effects were surprisingly good. It was refreshing to see good old fashioned latex prosthetics replace the now commonplace CGI. There was some CGI used, but only sparingly. |
| It was also good to see a serious take on such a ludicrous subject. It's always a better approach than deliberately trying too hard to make a campy movie. If you miss the way they made 'em in the eighties, They Nest is definitely an entertaining trip down memory lane. |
| Entertainment : 3 out of 4 |
| Watchability : 2 out of 4 |
| Overall : 2.5 out of 4 |
| Reviewed by Blake. |
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