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.

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.