THE NEST **** USA 2021 Dir: James Suttles. 100 mins
When a young family relocate to a recently deceased family members home to try to deal with mother Beth (Sarah Navratil) past drug addiction problems that are taking their toll on the family and ultimately lost her beloved teaching job and increased strained relations with partner Jack (Kevin Patrick Murphy). Beth’s daughter Meg (Maple Suttles) has increasing separation anxiety following an accident but there is something more sinister a foot as a comforting teddy bear hides a dark secret… a parasitic creatures lives within the stuffed bear.
The Nest is a horror thriller directed by James Suttles in which a mother becomes concerned about her daughter’s behaviour and the child’s unwillingness to be separated from her.
When a mother becomes increasingly worried that her young daughter may be infected by a parasitic creature she is thrust into a living nightmare of self destruction and drug abuse.
The Nest is a powerful film although the themes are somewhat understated it touch on drug addiction and the strongest bond of all love between a mother and her child.
The Nest is a slow build but it cleverly builds tension and atmosphere with clever use of great cinematography and sound. The films cast especially the mother played by Sarah Navratil and daughter played by newcomer Maple Suttles are both amazing actors who give it the there all and certainly carry the film, you believe in them and feel for the characters as you are thrust o a journey into the darkness with them.
My only gripe is that this is a creature feature, I expected more of a b-movie horror which in turn would have more gory horror, the effects we see are very good but we don’t see enough of the grue, we are left to our imagination for the majority of the film. This Nest focuses more on the psychological side of horror much in the way the cult horror film The Babadook does, there are definitely a few similarities with The Babadook here which is certainly a good thing.
The film does get in your psyche and you find yourself getting thrust into a anxious state as the viewer, themes are repeated addressed over and over showing the mothers descent into self-destruction. Horror fans seeking a gore fest…don’t expect that here! If you like your horror delivered in a psychological fashion this is for you.
I was pleasantly surprised by this little indie horror sci-fi gem, yes, I wanted more horror effects and a lot less left to the imagination but the ending will forever haunt me, I still can’t get that imagery out of my mind!
I really look forward to seeing more of director James Suttles work.
Review by Tony Newton
THE NEST is available on Amazon