MOVIE: BROTHERS’ NEST

Shane | 11 July 2018 | Reply

MOVIE: BROTHERS’ NEST
Written by Jaime Brown with Chris Pahlow
Directed by Clayton Jacobsen
Starring Shane Jacobsen, Clayton Jacobsen, Kym Gyngell
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
8/10

The Jacobsen brothers team up for the first time since 2006’s Kenny to produce this darker-than-dark comedy thriller about two brothers attempting murder.

On a misty country morning brothers Terry and Jeff cycle to their childhood home, don forensic overalls, and go through their macabre checklist. The tension between the two is immediately apparent, with Terry (Clayton Jacobsen) leading the plan, and Jeff (Shane Jacobsen) reluctantly following along.

Childhood issues rapidly come to the fore as their plan becomes evident: kill their stepfather so he can’t inherit the family property once Mum dies of the cancer she is currently suffering from.

Like all good amateur plans, Murphy’s law comes into play and things go massively awry. Family skeletons come tumbling from closets, secrets are exposed about their current lives and about their father’s suicide many years before, and murder most foul is committed.

To say much more would give away the juicy surprises which viewers are in store for. Suffice to say that Clayton directs Brothers’ Nest deftly and without frills – the pacing remains constant until the climax, and information is delivered in measured doses, ensuring constant attention. With a story this dark we almost chided ourselves for enjoying it as much as we did. Even now every time we think of how much we enjoyed the film, we can’t help but think of real life family tragedies and wonder how different this story is to them.