The Nesting – Vinegar Syndrome (UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1981
Director: Armand Weston
Writers: Daria Price, Armand Weston
Cast: Robin Groves, Christopher Loomis, Michael David Lally, John Carradine, Bill Rowley, David Tabor, Patrick Farrelly, Bobo Lewis, June Berry, James Saxon, James Hayden, Gloria Grahame

Release Date: April 15th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 109 Minutes 58 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $59.98

"With the impending release of her new book, “The Nesting,” agoraphobic New York-based writer Lauren Cochran decides to spend some time outside the city to find inspiration for her next novel. Arriving in the small town of Dover Falls, she happens across an isolated and dilapidated mansion that bears an uncanny resemblance to the one depicted on the cover of her latest work. Feeling a strange pull to the place, Lauren decides to rent the property and quickly gets herself set up and into writing mode. But it’s not long before she starts experiencing bizarre, vivid dreams and seeing ghostly apparitions. Soon enough, those around her start dying in strange and gruesome ways. What could all this have to do with the house’s murky history and a tragedy that occurred there decades before?" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD, Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative."

The Nesting comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 61.6 GB

Feature: 61 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look.

The Nesting comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.4 GB

Feature: 30.2 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH. The audio sounds excellent; dialog always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise ambient sounds are well-represented.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an audio interview with screenwriter Daria Price, conducted by extras producer Ewan Cant (57 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary track with writer and film critic Andy Marshall-Roberts.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include an archival image gallery with music from the film playing in the background (poster/advertisements/press book/script pages), a radio spot (35 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), two TV spots (1 minute 40 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), U.S. theatrical trailer (1 minute 59 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), Spanish theatrical trailer (1 minute 59 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Spanish with removable English subtitles), alternate 'jump scare' from The Nesting cut (1 minute 11 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Spanish with removable English subtitles), The Nesting title sequence (1 minute 24 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Spanish with removable English subtitles), Cuts and trims (8 minutes 56 seconds, Dolby Digital mono, no dialog, music from the film playing in the background), Unused dailies (11 minutes 26 seconds, Dolby Digital mono, no dialog, music from the film playing in the background), an interview with actress Robin Groves titled Acting is Being Brave (20 minutes 39 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actor Michael David Lally titled The Outlaw Poet (21 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with associate producer / production manager Don Walters titled Low Budget Miracle (30 minutes 32 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Nightmare USA author Stephen Thrower titled The Sating of Desire (28 minutes 39 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a featurette produced by the Vinegar Syndrome Film Archive titled The Nesting Outtakes: Preserving Armand Weston's Gothic Horror (14 minutes 22 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio interview with Daria Price and Ewan Cant (57 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary track with Andy Marshall-Roberts.

Other extras include reversible cover art, a spot gloss slipcover (limited to 6,000 units), and a 20-page booklet with an essay titled Nightmares in the Dream House: Looking Back at the 1981 Horror Film The Nesting written by Amanda Reyes.

Summary:

Armand Weston directed The Nesting; it is his only foray out of XXX cinema. The cinematographer on The Nesting was João Fernandes, whose diverse filmography includes Deep Throat, The Devil in Miss Jones, Through the Looking Glass, The Prowler, and Children of the Corn. The Nesting is also known under the alternate titles Phobia and Massacre Mansion.

A writer suffering from agoraphobia rents an isolated home, which has remained uninhabited for years, that unlocks a secret from her past.

The best horror films draw you into the nightmare they are trying to create. Though horror cinema’s most celebrated films are far from flawless cinematic experiences, they share a common trait that sets them apart from horror films that have fallen into obscurity: the ability to transcend their flaws and make you believe in the unfolding events, regardless of how implausible the premise may be. A textbook example of a film that succeeds in spite of its limitations is The Nesting.

The Nesting has many moments where the protagonist is alone or there are ghosts in the room with her. That said, The Nesting is a film that relies heavily on atmosphere; it's mostly done by creating visually arresting moments that put you in the protagonist's state of mind. Though visuals and scores often work together to create the mood, The Nesting's minimalist score is limited to period set music and Johann Sebastian Bach's Air On The G String (this song bookends the narrative).

Though the performances are the primary area where most of The Nesting’s shortcomings lie, fortunately, this is not the case with Robin Groves’s (Silver Bullet) portrayal of the protagonist. She gives an utterly convincing performance of a woman having a breakdown. Notable cast members are John Carradine (The Grapes of Wrath), who portrays Colonel Lebrun, the man who owns the old house, and Gloria Grahame (The Big Heat), a ghost who now haunts the house.

The version of The Nesting known as Phobia is about seven minutes longer; most of the new additions to the narrative focus on the protagonist's agoraphobia. Having seen The Nesting version via Blue Underground’s 2011 Blu-ray and the Phobia version via this release, I can say that the latter holds up better. That said, the additional footage does not hamper the narrative's momentum in any way.

The Nesting has a solid premise that is well-executed, and the narrative’s deliberate pacing suits the story that unfolds. That said, while it is the protagonist's agoraphobia that initially sets events in motion, once she arrives at the old dilapidated house, the focus shifts to more supernatural elements. Content-wise, The Nesting has most of the elements one expects from a horror film: well-timed jump scares, stylish kills, and special effects that hold up well. Ultimately, The Nesting is a well-made film that fans of supernatural horror cinema should thoroughly enjoy.

The Nesting gets an exceptional release from Vinegar Syndrome that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and informative extras, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer