The Nest of the Cuckoo Birds

When I watch a super-low budget, amateur movie like "The Nest of the Cuckoo Birds," I try to view it as if it were an amateur play at the local playhouse. My primary question: Did I enjoy it. The answer here is, yes, I (mostly) enjoyed it.

With that out of the way, the basic story line to "Nest" is pretty clever. (And director Bert Williams does just enough to hold the viewer's interest through to the very end where he ties things together.) The basic story line concerns undercover government revenue agent "Johnson" who has his cover blown and escapes into the everglades to avoid certain death. After an "interesting" encounter with a knife-wielding female, Johnson further escapes to an island housing the titular Cuckoo Bird Inn. The Inn is owned by religious fanatic, Mrs. Pratt, who is accompanied by caretaker, Harold, and Mrs. Pratt's daughter, Lisa. When he arrives, he is the only guest in the Inn. The balance of the film remains concerned with events at the Inn.

Now, if there is a defect here it is in the dialogue, which (not surprisingly) fills up quite a lot of the 1:20ish running time and can get rather sluggish at times. This movie would have suffered nothing by trimming its run time by 10 to 15 minutes. However, there are discernible plot points that move the action along. These center on Johnson's continued "snooping" of the restricted areas of the Inn and its surrounding property (much to the chagrin of Harold and Mrs. Pratt). What he eventually finds indeed qualifies the movie as a "horror" movie, though we get most of that in the last 20 or so minutes of the film.

Florida during the 1960s and early 1970s gave us some really strange gems, including "Two Thousand Maniacs!" (1964) "Miss Leslie's Dolls" (1972) and "Blood Freak" (1972). I will add this to my collection of Sunshine State curios.

I once reviewed "The House of Seven Belles" as perhaps the shoutiest film ever. IMHO this is a technique often employed by bad performers to simulate emotion when they can't really do the necessary acting - and here there's definitely signs of this, particularly from the lead. However, there are some more nuanced aspects as well, which helps.

Overall, this is admirably trashy in terms of plot, atmosphere and use of locations, but what impressed me most was the soundtrack - a sort of hawaiian-influenced lounge jazz with bongos that most of the time was very effective.

Worth a look.

The Nest of the Cuckoo Birds (1965) is yet another epic restoration project overseen by the visionary Nicolas Winding Refn. Bert Williams, primarily known as an extra in films, directed this, his sole cinematic endeavor. Reading the synopsis, I anticipated a weighty Southern drama, but the film turned out to be a prime example of trash cinema at its finest.

Beyond the subpar acting and technical flaws, the film boasts a surprisingly bizarre cinematic language, simultaneously immersing the viewer in the events while also keeping them at a distance as a witness.

This film, which I had eagerly added to my Mubi watchlist, took me by surprise. It taught me, at the very least, to never question Nicolas Winding Refn's taste. The director's penchant for the unconventional shines through in his choice to resurrect this forgotten gem.

While the film may not appeal to everyone, its sheer audacity and unabashed embrace of its low-budget aesthetic make it a fascinating watch. The performances, though amateurish, exude a raw energy that is strangely captivating. The plot, while meandering at times, is punctuated by moments of unexpected humor and surrealism.

Technically, the film is rough around the edges, with grainy visuals and inconsistent sound quality. Yet, this only adds to its charm, giving it a gritty, authentic feel that is often lacking in more polished productions.

"The Nest of the Cuckoo Birds" is not a film for the faint of heart. It is a challenging, often uncomfortable viewing experience. But for those willing to venture into the depths of cinematic obscurity, it offers a unique and unforgettable journey.

Long considered lost in the annals of cinematic history, a 35mm print of this Southern Gothic tale was discovered recently in a New York theatre. The film has since been restored and finally shown to audiences with the help of Mubi and film director Nicolas Winding Refn. This film is a classic case of a myth being built up so much that it doesn't quite live up to the reputation. The film is a passion project from star, writer, director, and editor Bert Williams. Williams plays an undercover cop called Johnson whose cover gets blown whilst trying to infiltrate a gang of violent moonshiners.

As he evades the gang through the murky swamps of the deep South, he finds himself washed on a small island. On this small island there's a dilapidated hotel with three somewhat off-kilter inhabitants. Johnson decides to stay at the hotel whilst the heat dies down, except strange occurrences keep happening to make him believe that he's not quite as safe as he thinks he is.

The film clearly draws a-lot of influence from past genre classics, most notably Psycho and Night of the Hunter. The film has an incredibly creepy atmosphere, alongside a couple of scenes with genuinely disturbing imagery. Unfortunately there's not much more to the film then that. The characters in this film aren't well defined or given much characterisation. The biggest issue I had was that the overall story felt dull, and it's not until the final twenty minutes when the plot starts moving that film becomes intriguing.

The film had a lack of urgency in the script and started to meander midway through. Due to the bland, uninteresting characters (and at times pretty bad acting), this film felt like a missed opportunity as the filler in between the interesting plot developments was poorly developed. The film would've made for a fantastic thirty minute short, but instead it's stretched out even with a short run-time of eighty one minutes. It's a shame because the film has some really great moments but not enough to sustain a feature film. In the end it's a film worth seeking out if you have Mubi for the rarity alone. However what you'll get is a B-movie mash up of Psycho and Night of the Hunter intersected with strikingly original moments that'll make you think this could've been a really great film.

The Nest of the Cuckoo Birds (1965)

** (out of 4)

Bert Williams plays an undercover cop who tries to bring down some moonshiners working in the Everglades. His cover is blown and he takes off in the alligator swamps trying to survive. He winds up at a hotel in the woods where he thinks he's safe but soon he realizes the horrors that are there.

THE NEST OF THE CUCKOO BIRDS is a film that I first heard about around the time I first got online. It was a lost movie and people debates whether or not it was ever actually completed. A few bits and pieces of promotional material showed up but a print also turned up and was finally shown in 2017. As is the case with a lot of lost films that are found, there's no masterpiece here but the film is certainly an interesting one that manages to hold your attention throughout.

Not only did Williams play the lead role but he also wrote, directed, shot and produced the picture so clearly this is his baby. The film was obviously shot on a very low-budget but I found there to be quite a few things here that were actually good. For starters, Williams perfectly uses the Everglades location and he actually creates a rather good atmosphere. I also thought there were some very effective shots including early on when he has a strange vision of a naked blonde woman. There's also a bizarre murder sequence where editing plays a key role and one can't help but this was the director trying to pull off something like the shower scene in PSYCHO.

I honestly thought the performances were okay as well. Williams certainly wasn't the next Marlon Brando but he had a normal, average look and the cast all seemed like real people, which helped add a certain rawness to the film. Of course, there's not too much happen and a lot of the 82-minute running time is devoted to people sitting around talking. These scenes here are rather boring and there's no doubt that there's not too much of a story but fans of the bizarre will still want to check this out.