The Nest

There’s something wrong with Meg (Maple Suttles).  She’s always hungry it seems.  She refuses to go to class and is hoarding objects like hair and It’s all happening because of a stuffed teddy bear that has entered into her life.  Wait. What?

Yes, a teddy bear.  There’s something living inside this stuffed animal.  GROSS!  Just like that, The Nest begins its domestic body horror tale and rolls out a slow burn of paranoia and gruesome creature attacks!

"From head injuries to an obsession with her scars from the cesarean, this fright-filled journey into body horror is a twisting psychologically-fueled nightmare"


This is why I steer clear of “harmless” yard sales.  You never know what you are actually going to get!  And, much like The Hidden before it, this tale of body and eco horror is a great reminder of just how effective creature features can be! 

Things get relatively creepy early on in The Nest as we see an infected family - who look all sorts of bent out of shape, complete with dark circles under their eyes - open their mouths to let something buzzing about in their throats out.  What is it you ask?  Well, just wait.  Because we have a while to wait before all of that is unleashed.

This unsettling cut-scene interrupts an already creepy sequence in which a stranger, possibly the husband of the infected family, tells Meg that the adorable stuffed bear with the BIG brown eyes she wants is, of course, absolutely free, but only to her.

Ah, but that damn bear comes with a price that can never be paid, my friends.  There is something bubbling in its stomach and whatever it is definitely wants out.  With a shocking consequence to handling the teddy bear, we are already firmly in the grips of The Nest, a new horror film which stars genre icon Dee Wallace (Cujo, The Howling) in yet another memorable performance.

Wallace stars as the family friend to Beth (Sarah Navrati) and her husband, Jack (Kevin Patrick Murphy), and their daughter, Meg.  The young girl is spiraling out of control while everyone else seems to be gaslighting Beth, who is trying to make amends for her addictions due to the painkillers she was prescribed for her cesarean all those years ago.The Nest

Meg’s separation anxiety seems to be growing, but as she grows fonder of the bear, Beth notices that the bear is communicating with Meg and even influencing her behavior. When Meg starts developing bizarre hoarding habits, and seems infected by a parasitic creature, things take a turn for the worse. Soon it’s clear there’s something much more nightmarish and sinister to this yard sale toy than anyone could have imagined.

Directed by James Suttles and written by Jennifer Trudrung, The Nest might need some sharper editing to tighten up the overlong feel to the demonic and domestic terror situation within this movie, but the horror is completely on-point as Beth finds herself surrounded by the infected as she slowly spins out of control herself.  She has nowhere to turn and the gaslighting almost blinds us, too.  

From head injuries to an obsession with her scars from the cesarean, this fright-filled journey into body horror is a twisting psychologically-fueled nightmare that grows more and more unsettling as it unfolds.  This film features performances from Drez Ryan, Blaque Fowler, Anna Lynn Holleman, and Penny Munroe and will be available exclusively at Redbox from July 6 and available on Digital, On Demand and DVD July 20 from 4DigitalMedia. 

The Nest has been opened!  What's inside will haunt you for days.

4/5 stars

Film Details

The Nest

MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime:
100 mins
Director
: James Suttles
Writer:
Jennifer Trudrung
Cast:
Dee Wallace; Sarah Navratil; Maple Suttles
Genre
: Horror
Tagline:
Don't let the bed bugs bite.
Memorable Movie Quote:
Distributor:
Redbox
Official Site: https://www.thehustle.movie/
Release Date:
Redbox from July 6 and available on Digital, On Demand and DVD July 20 from 4DigitalMedia
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
July 20, 2021.
Synopsis: A mother's reality erodes around her as she struggles to fathom the entangled web of her daughter's separation anxiety brought on by parasitic creatures within a stuffed bear.

Art

The Nest