Bugs have long been an extremely effective tool in the arsenal of genre movies. They can be used as all manner of metaphors and personifications of fear. In the case of The Nest, the bug is a physical manifestation of a little girl named Meg’s (Maple Suttles) separation anxiety. Not only is her anxiety given a physical presence in the form of a creepy-crawly, the bug also becomes a tool that Meg employs to ensure that her mother Beth (Sarah Navratil) never leaves her again.  

The Nest has some very strong performances. In particular, the two lead actresses who carry a bulk of the action, Suttles and Navratil, are extremely well cast in their roles. Suttles strikes a very unsettling note as a daughter who has been abandoned by her mother before. Her line delivery and vacant stares are enough to make your hair stand on end more than once. Sara Navratil is very convincing as a mother who not only desperately wants to find out what is wrong with her daughter but struggles to understand and fully grasp the crumbling reality surrounding her as the story progresses. Navratil turns in a heartbreaking performance that runs a gamut of emotions: sadness, genuine fear, paranoia. She is the spiritual center of the movie and a protagonist that is very easy to get behind.

Next to the performances, the other stand-out features include the direction, the score, and the special effects. Director James Suttles has some great shots throughout the story that up the tension. He also plays the bug card close to his chest, choosing to keep the ugly creature off-camera for a considerable amount of the run time and allowing your imagination to fill in some of the blanks. When you do finally see it, it’s a satisfyingly creepy moment. 

The special effects also stand out, not only because of the bug design but the scenes where the bug crawls out of a stuffed teddy bear and where the bug infects various characters. The effects are sufficiently creepy and gross, enough to make you cringe in discomfort. 

The score, by Neil Lee Griffin, is a very strong part of the movie. The music perfectly underscores the creepy moments but never overpowers them. It strikes the perfect mood and adds to the tension of the images on screen, aiding in the uncomfortable atmosphere the movie maintains throughout. 

Where The Nest does struggle, however, is in the pace of its story. It’s a movie that feels like a slow burn, one that never fully catches fire as it moves along. After an attention-grabbing opening, the narrative moves at a slow pace. While it’s critical that we understand Meg’s mental state and its effect on her parents, some of the more expository scenes of Meg talking to a therapist and her parents discussing her illness feel like they could have been sacrificed for a couple more scares or gross-out moments. 

Despite the slower pace of the movie and the narrative hiccups, The Nest is a journey worth taking for the acting and its technical prowess. 

6 out of 10