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'

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.

A disgusting batch of cannibalistic cockroaches caused by your usual illegal'n'unscrupulous scientific mishap terrorize a heretofore dull and peaceful small island community. Sure, the plot sounds dumb and unpromising, but luckily the solid direction by Terrence Winkless (who co-wrote "The Howling"),several quirky and engaging secondary characters (Stephan Davies in particular steals the film with a sidesplitting portrayal of the burg's klutzy, sloppy, eccentric resident exterminator who prefers to be called "a pest control agent"),a clever script by Robert King which has occasional dollops of amusingly macabre black humor (the single most bravura darkly funny comic moment is when endangered waitress Nancy Morgan butchers a bunch of roaches in her diner while "La Cucaracha" blasts on the soundtrack),pretty gruesome and creepy roach attack scenes, nasty and convincing make-up f/x by Cary Howe, a nice turn by the underrated Diana ("Stripped to Kill," "Spellbinder") Bellamy as a whiny old battle axe with a broken foot (the scene where the roaches crawl into her cast is a real hoot),and a wonderfully wicked performance by gorgeous redhead Terri ("The Terror Witin") Treas as a bitchy, cold-hearted evil lady scientist who derives erotic pleasure out of the roaches nibbling on her fingers make this baby a pleasantly enjoyable winner. The only flaw here is the three weak leads: Robert ("Empire of the Ants") Lansing as the corrupt mayor, Lisa ("Deadly Eyes") Langlois as Hizzoner's bimbo daughter, and Robert ("Ghost Town") Luz as the earnest, drippy sheriff are all numbingly bland. That fault aside, "The Nest" overall rates as a superior revolt-of-nature killer animal fright feature.