User reviews

Nailbiter was better than I expected. These days a lot of low-budget horror movies have been disappointing. So, it was nice that this came along and did something a little different.

The plot involves a mother and her three daughters living in Kansas awaiting the return of of the father. They are going to meet the him at the airport when they get sidetracked by a tornado. They find the nearest house and, unable to get inside, hide in the cellar. This turns out to be a huge mistake as the family upstairs is connected to a group of carnivorous monsters that tend to get riled up during storms.

One thing that was special about this was the plot didn't advance in quite the way I expected it to. I thought for sure they weren't going to harm these girls, but I was very wrong. There isn't a lot of on- screen violence but what's there is enough to create tension.

The acting was pretty strong, if a little spotty, good for a low-budget horror anyway. A few of the performances do stand out, especially the Sheriff and the oldest daughter. The music was robust and does a good job of setting a tone and providing cues. The monster make-up is good but underused. I don't think you ever really get a good look at a whole one. Although there are a couple nice scenes where you get close ups of their faces.

Lastly, The film sets itself up for a sequel and given the context I would very much like to see it. This has a solid premise and a bigger budget and some more action would suit it nicely I think.

Damn it is hard at times to write a review for a great film, and I find it even harder to write one for this awful awful film. It sort of sounded OK, but it took all about 10 minutes work out where this one was going to.

The music score is terrible, the so called special affect would have cut it 50 years ago, but it is 2012 after all, and damn I expect more from films these days then this rubbish.

I think the story it self is not bad, but the acting is as wooden as a plank! and it just feels wrong, cheap came to mind, but thats even a complement! So to sum it up, unless you have nothing better to do, damn no, don't waste your time on this, life is just to short! A very very solid 1 out of 10

This movie is about a mother (Alice Maguire) and her three daughters who are trying to get to the airport to pick up Mr Maguire, the daughter's father. But on the way there is a tornado warning and the trip starts to get too dangerous so they stop on the highway and run to a house to take shelter. Nobody answers the door so they all get in to the cellar to wait out the storm. But then they discover that there is somebody in the house above them, and then they become trapped in the cellar. But there's more to worry about than the impending storm, and their lives become endangered, by something that's not normal.

What can I say? The acting was terrible, the script was cringe-worthy, and the plot is very overused; people trapped in a small area, getting bothered by some unusual presence. I think it could have been okay, but the way it was presented just made it very boring. There were no scary moments, which can be fine if the movie has an interesting plot that will keep you entertained without being scared every 10 minutes, but there was nothing. Nothing that intrigued me to keep watching, or put me on the edge of my seat, or made me want to see a sequel. In my opinion it was just a very,very badly produced movie.

First time reviewer, but this was a tragedy that called itself a movie, and more than enough inspiration for me to sign in and write. Name a component of film-making and this atrocity cussed it out and b*tch- slapped it in the face.

I adore horror. Even the most avid horror fan would be shocked at the dogs I have sat through and thought were OK. Don't get me wrong; there are other movies I would rate a "1" and feel was on par with this one, but something about this particular piece of crap just insulted me. Maybe it was the acting, particularly Erin McGrone's. She made me want to punch someone in then face and cry. There's something desperately wrong when the kids' acting is far superior to the adults'. Then there was the script writing, which was probably done by two drunk orangutans.

I guess the part that pushed me over the cliff was that the concept was actually a GOOD IDEA. I wish Eli Roth had somehow been involved in the production, due to the mix of natural disaster and horror (a la Aftershock.) I hate to see ideas with potential go to sore waste. If it's this bad, it should be a standard one-aspect movie.

A waste of precious time on earth.

"Nailbiter", despite its somewhat cheesy title, was actually quite good. The movie is listed as horror, but just don't expect to be scared out of your seat. "Nailbiter" is more of a thriller, the kind that creeps under your skin and leaves you wondering.

The story is about a mom and her three daughters driving towards Kansas city where they are to be reunited with their returning husband and father coming back from military service overseas. But a massive tornado is ravaging the state, and the women get waylaid on their way, having to seek shelter in the cellar of an apparently empty house. As the storm rages, the women find that they are by all means not alone, trapped in the cellar with something beastly stalking outside.

I enjoyed the story, even though it was far from scary. But the story managed to lure me in and keep me wanting to see what happened next. The director, Patrick Rea, was really good at building up suspense and letting the movie progress in a way that let us slowly in on the events, piece by piece. It worked out so well, and I found myself to be thoroughly entertained throughout the entire movie.

Acting-wise, then "Nailbiter" was good as well, there was a relatively small cast to the movie, but they all did really good jobs with their roles, especially Ben Jeffrey (playing officer Carr) he was really great.

"Nailbiter" had a really great atmosphere to it, and the sense of dread and claustrophobia in the cellar with something unknown lurking outside was just such a nice touch. They managed to pull that off quite nicely.

If you enjoy scary movies, horror movies, thrillers, etc. then you definitely should give "Nailbiter" a chance, it might just grow on you. Despite being overly scary, "Nailbiter" does manage to impress and get under your skin. It is a movie that leaves you wondering what was just exactly happening there in Wellsville.

A mother and her three daughters are going on a weekend trip when they soon find themselves caught in the middle of a storm. A tornado heads directly for their car so they seek shelter in an abandoned wine cellar. They discover they are trapped and whoever owns the house wants to keep it that way. Within the shadows something begins to stir. They are not alone in the darkness...

I give it a B- because although predictable, it offers good acting and the feeling of claustrophobia. The characters are also likable and more three dimensional then cereal box creature features. The creatures themselves wouldn't make a five year old wet their pants, but it's the idea that suppose to be scary. Check this movie out if you are a horror fan. It's at least entertaining.

Like the title says, I'm from Kansas, used to live in the Wellsville area, so... well it seemed almost familiar to me. Anyways, I've been in almost the exact same situation. Well..., minus the f***ed up monsters, demons, or whatthef***ever they are. Hmmm..., anyways, this almost puts and interesting take on us Kansans. Almost makes it seem like there's something cool in this fly over state. Anywho, this move is just plain bad. The acting is special education drama club drop out level. The make up and effects are just plain stupid. This is definitely not a movie I can recommend to anybody for any reason, ever. Unless you are stupid, drunk, high or all 3, then there is absolutely nothing about this movie that is interesting or even watchable. Hell, if you can find something positive to say about this horrible piece of s***, then you are clearly all 3, and probably more stupid than all else.

Where do I start?

The Story was non-existing.

Acting was pretty mediocre even for independent low budget horror movie standards.

Background score was abysmal, loud and totally inappropriate for most part of film's run time.

Much hyped creature effects has less than 10 seconds screen time.

Less said about the film's screenplay the better.

Overall, the director made mess of what seemed like a somewhat interesting premise.

Only a little kid would find this movie scary. This is not worth watching, don't waste your time. I only watched like 25 minutes of it and I felt stupid. Only a little kid would find this movie scary. This is not worth watching, don't waste your time. I only watched like 25 minutes of it and I felt stupid. Only a little kid would find this movie scary. This is not worth watching, don't waste your time. I only watched like 25 minutes of it and I felt stupid. Only a little kid would find this movie scary. This is not worth watching, don't waste your time. I only watched like 25 minutes of it and I felt stupid. Only a little kid would find this movie scary. This is not worth watching, don't waste your time. I only watched like 25 minutes of it and I felt stupid.

Wow. There's bad acting........and then there's this...

I read another review where they said "really well acted" It's not possible that we're watching the same movie.

In all honesty, this is, hands down, the worst attempt at film making I have ever had the extreme displeasure of suffering through. At the 38-minute mark I turned off my TV......I've never done that before.....that should tell you just how horrendous this movie is.

On the bright side? Well, I now have a benchmark from which all really, really bad movies can be compared.

I am wondering if this was the Director's first attempt? And the cast, writers and producers' first venture into cinema? If so, they get a mulligan.........if not, then they need to make it their last venture into cinema.

Nailbiter is a tale of two things one I like the over I hate. Let us start with what I liked, the idea of becoming trapped during a storm works well also adds potential realism to the story. The creatures works well with the whole weather changes people and also feels slightly fresh for the horror genre. Now for the negative, one of my big pet hates in horror is going somewhere or doing something you really didn't need to do. This film puts our family in a position they really didn't need to be in, they could and any responsible parent would have kept their children at home during a tornado problem. Add in to this we get the problem where the family could have just carried on driving because the tornado was behind them. The tornado goes over the shelter but does NO DAMAGE to the house, really? And finally why would you run to the shelter instead of drive to the house. OK enough of the negatives let's look at the good again, the whole cult like community works nicely but I think the strongest part of this film is you really don't know what the creatures will be. I think this film is a real miss mash that really could have been brilliant but shouldn't be looked at negatively. (6/10)

Actor Review

Erin McGrane: Janet Maguire is the mother of the family, she is recovering from an alcohol problem but has been clean for six months. She has to keep her family safe against an unknown enemy after they get caught in the middle of a tornado. Erin does fill the parent role well but never really shines. (5/10)

Meg Saricks: Jennifer Maguire is the eldest daughter of the family who has to look strong to her younger sisters, all while showing her ability to use what she can find. Meg is meant to become the star of the show but doesn't show enough to make her a powerful enough leading star. (5/10)

Joicie Appell: Mrs Shurman is the old lady who lives in the house along with the creatures who are hungry after a storm. Joicie does a solid job as the leader of the creatures but doesn't get enough screen time to give away enough. (5/10)

Support Cast: Nailbiter has a mix of supporting characters, we have the younger two daughters who really don't shine, the creatures all work well but it is the members of the community that needed more time to show how this storm idea works.

Director Review: Patrick Rea – Patrick really did give us a good idea for horror, it may have a few negatives but the positives all work well for the film. (7/10)

Horror: Nailbiter fills the horror check list well by creating isolation, a mysterious creature and putting a small group in real danger. (8/10) Settings: Nailbiter uses isolation for the setting with weather affecting it, but it also makes everything look like an area you could simply drive passed. (8/10) Special Effects: Nailbiter has solid effects for the creatures but as we only see them in glances it all works to keep the mystery. (8/10) Suggestion: Nailbiter is one for the horror fans to try, I think you may get rewarded with a gem but don't expect brilliance. (Horror Fans Try)

Best Part: The film not being afraid who it kills. Worst Part: Did they need to go?

Believability: I do think it is not believable but I do like how it has a feeling it could be real. (0/10) Chances of Tears: No (0/10) Chances of Sequel: It is open for one. Post Credits Scene: No

Oscar Chances: No Runtime: 1 Hour 22 Minutes Tagline: Fear will surface

Overall: Nailbiter is a surprise package of a horror film that has a lot of potential that doesn't all shine through.

I would never begrudge anyone's opinion but who are these people who didn't like this movie at all? For the record I'm not affiliated in any way to this movie or the company that produced it. I'm just a fan who knows a good movie when he sees one and "NAILBITER" is a damn good movie! The story is of a mom and her three daughters who are seeking shelter from a tornado that is bearing down on them. They are in their car headed to the airport to pick up dad from the airport (He's returning home from the war). Unfortunately the cellar they end up in is the worst possible place they could be because something unnatural is lurking above ground. Something that isn't human, and it's hungry...

"NAILBITER" doesn't pretend to be anything more than it is, a good thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout it's running time. I saw it last year at the NYC Horror Film Festival & I can attest to the very positive reaction it received from the crowd. What really sealed the deal for me was the vagueness of the creatures and their origin. Are they werewolves? Zombies? Vampires? Something never seen before in a film of this ilk? You'd have to watch for yourself and decide but they are effective & scary to boot! Director Patrick Rea has a way with the camera that lets the audience in but only so much...that way the film remains tense & eerie. The actors all did a fine job with the taut & mysterious aspects of the script and the look of the film belies in meager budget, it's a seriously good looking movie.

The title fits the film just right as I am currently growing myself some really long nails so I can chew em' to the nub when the promised "NAILBITER 2" reaches the screen! Again, if you didn't like it then you didn't like it but tell the truth...didja really see it?

I was expecting a lot from NAILBITER after the first five minutes. After all, in those five minutes I found out it was a well-shot and initially engaging film, one that took the time to develop character and situation unlike so many these days. I was hoping for something better than the usual run-of-the-mill horror guff.

Unfortunately after just a handful of minutes NAILBITER gets significantly worse when the main characters find themselves holed up in a cellar to escape from an approaching tornado. After this point, they're trapped in the cellar FOR THE ENTIRE RUNNING TIME. In the dark. There's a mutant monster on the loose, yes, but he's barely glimpsed and seems incidental to the main storyline, which is just about those women sitting around in the cellar and complaining. Of course, there's time for a ridiculously over the top ending along the way.

The film is very underwhelming for the genre. None of the cast are familiar and none of them give very good performances; none of the protagonists are likable either. Bloodshed is kept to a minimum, and the horror itself is limited to those dumb jump scares that work for very few people these days. In other words, there's virtually no reason to watch this.

Now this isn't meant to be mean spirited in any way but honestly, I'll be frank, that was a freakin' turd. From empty plot lines, absolutely no character development and painfully bad acting and dialogue this movie just punched me in the gut. Not in the good "WOW what a genuinely shocking and thought provoking horror" way, in the "I can't believe I just LITERALLY wasted an hour and a half of my life" kind of way. Now I read some of the reviews on here and saw so many people saying to give it a shot and that it'll come good but y'all completely DECEIVED ME! Again, not intending to be mean spirited but yeah. I'm an active supporter of indie horror films and love me some practical effects but this goddamn flick gonna have me second guessing everything that comes my way now. Now I'm not claiming I could do any better, in fact I believe I would do a heck of a lot worse, but this movie garners no merit. Thanks to the director and everyone involved for, yknow, putting in the hard yards and that but seriously it was a bloody crockpot of crap. Also to the guy who's comparing this film and it's director to Alfred flippin' Hitchcock??? Did we watch the same movie?!!? Get your head out of your ass. Sorry for the strongly worded review but goddamn, gotta warn other naive genre addicts. Thanks for reading, again very sorry to be rude x