#Hooptober9

💀 NUMBER SEVEN 💀
💀 TWO INSECT CENTERED FILMS 💀

"They Nest" (2000)
* dir: Ellory Elkayem
* Horror / Science Fiction / Like An Episode Of "The X-Files" As Written By Stephen King (Not To Be Confused With The Actual Episode Of "The X-Files" That Was Written By Stephen King)
[ ★★★½ / ★★★★★ ]

From the director of "Eight Legged Freaks" and those two made-for-TV "Return Of The Living Dead" sequels from the early-00s that not a single person enjoys!

Seriously, though: I found myself a bit caught off-guard by how much I liked this one.

For one, I didn't expect just about every single performance to be as solid as it was. That's one of those otherwise obvious details that goes a long way towards making all of the creepy-crawly business feel more believable (especially when you run into some bum CGI), but something that many genre films seem to regard as less than important. But nobody overacts or overplays anything here, they all play off of eachother remarkably well, and each role feels appreciably lived-in. It'd be too much to call it all "understated", it's just some unexpectedly nice business. Veteran character actor John Savage is particularly good as our (first) human antagonist, but I also thought Dean Stockwell was a reliable presence (as always) doing some excellent, disarmingly quiet work. Plus, our two leads actually have a decent amount of genuine, charmingly goofy chemistry with eachother! Good stuff.

Compelling little narrative here as well, full of deep-rooted jealousies and bitter small-town resentments building and cascading upon one another until you get a nice little tension based hum going. And although the film is quite icky, with plenty of goo and viscera and slime, it isn't nearly as gross as I was anticipating strictly because we actually don't get any cockroach stuff; the titular creatures of "They Nest" are some kind of bizarre, newly discovered mutant breed that bites people with giant pincer-like mandibles and causes localized paralysis before near-instant death. Which, you know, is still pretty gnarly...but again, a different sort of beast compared to swarms of the sort of nasty little motherfuckers that hang out in your trashcan.

I'll also say this for certain: the movie looks absolutely beautiful with its impossibly green rural Maine coastal community setting constantly drowning in an ever-present New England rain. Lord, take me there.

Sure, the ending is a bit anticlimactic and the overall trip was generally a predictable one (despite a fun third act twist). And maybe you can simply chalk it up to my personal affection for a solidly crafted, well-executed killer bug flick...but what the hell, I had a fun ride with this one. Recommended!