Nesting Dolls

As someone who spent nearly four years in a fraternity in my late teens/early 20s, I can definitively say that this is one of the few movies to capture the true nature of the relationships between the members of Greek organizations Organizations whose members refer to each other as 'brothers' and 'sisters.'

On the surface, you call yourselves brothers and sisters under the pretense that you're more than friends, and that you share a bond that comes close to being family. You spend an inordinate amount of time telling everyone how close you are, and how you would practically die for each other. And you relentlessly promote your organization as a positive bastion of friendship and unity.

Below the surface, however, you realize the reality is somewhat different. For starters, you enter the organization in a ritual called 'rush' - which amounts to the most fleetingly superficial experience of goodwill and friendship you could possibly imagine. Rush is immediately followed by a much longer ritual called 'pledgeship' - which amounts to being abused and exploited for months on end.

Fortunately pledgeship doesn't last forever, and most pledges make it through to become active members. However, you never really feel like you know these people - and you certainly don't entirely trust them. You go through the motions of being a group of friends, but the question is always there right beneath the surface - if it really came down to it, would these people that you are supposedly so close to sell you out or even kill you in a heartbeat if it served their agenda - and would they do it in the name of brotherhood/sisterhood?

Nesting Dolls isn't the most realistic movie in the sense that many of us - even those who have belonged to a fraternity/sorority - can say we've actually been though the exact scenario presented in the movie. However, just about anyone who has been in an organization in which you call yourselves 'brothers' or 'sisters' will most likely agree - that's exactly what you thought it was, just below the surface.

Does nt look like a low budget movie to me ,acting is good .Its kind of twisted but well done .

Three girls go to a lake house for a few days but when an "accident" happens, they multiply their problems by trying to clean things up only to preserve themselves.

The "accident" is really lame and not exactly explained well enough to justify their snowballing reactions. That's probably my biggest gripe with this. If it doesn't initially make sense, it takes away from the rest of the story.

The production is decent as is the acting. I don't find a lot of the story believable because I feel that the idea of how women would react in this situation is off. As a woman, I am well aware of how vindictive we can be especially if we feel we are being taken advantage of or if we are placed in a "mean girl" situation.

It was a decent watch and I was into it enough to want to see how things would turn out. I didn't understand the jellyfish, the "accident" or the spaghetti scene. If you watch it and understand those moments, kudos to you.

I'm not likely to watch it again but it wasn't an awful film. Actually, considering that it was low budget, it was pretty good.

Granted, I do think that people who are blindly loyal to a group--any group--are potentially dangerous. They've already proven that they can't think for themselves and need others to tell them what to do. Sororities are no exception and women loyal to a group are no exception (see: Shonda Sharer).

But come the hell ON. There is loyalty, blind loyalty and GTFOH. The girls in the Manson family weren't THAT loyal. Another reviewer said this: there needs to be a sequel. Same cast--whose performances weren't that bad, albeit Tori was a bit over the top. I stayed with it to end...and was irritated when I did.

"Nesting Dolls" is an incredibly effective low budget thriller, probably way more effective and powerful than you'd expect. It is difficult to convey the full scope and power of the film without giving away spoilers, so I will use broad strokes --

Three sorority sisters go off together for a week together. Two of them -- Tori and Britt -- seem to be getting the third one (Erica) ready for the rushing event that's coming up. They drink, play games, go boating, and generally have a fun time together. But something happens. And the reaction to that event is a series of horrible decisions that pit the girls against each other and exposes their darker sides as events just continue to spiral out of control....

This film just work on all levels. One of the things that makes the film is so effective and powerful is that although the girls make incomprehensible decisions in reaction to events, they just go so all-in on them, that we accept that, yeah, the decision was mind-blowing but maybe that's what these girls would do? Part of that is the outstanding performance of our three leads, Sydney Amanual, Ali Breneman, and especially Jenna Krasowski (in the toughest role). They are uniformly excellent and all make us believe. And this movie hit me like a brick -- I was actively worried about how it was going to turn out and was completely invested in the characters. Outstanding work from this entire crew.

My only real criticism was the ending. It was a bit of deus ex machina that doesn't really make sense and doesn't live up to the standards of the rest of the movie. But it's not terrible, just a bit of a disappointment given what had come before.

Highly recommended, but with a warning -- I was unable to really convey what this movie shows you because that would have spoiled the movie. But be forewarned, this is not a light-hearted movie. It shows the pitch black soul of some people (or some sorority girls, to be specific) and you likely feel uncomfortable during and once it's done. It will stick with you, believe me.