Film Review: Brothers' Nest

Unusually financed (a number of local cinema chains were involved in the funding and are all lengthily credited at the end), this is mostly Shane and Clayton alone in a house over the course of a grey winter’s day in rural Victoria, and it benefits greatly from the sense of claustrophobia as the two get on each other’s nerves. They’re seen arriving at the place after many months of planning the murder of their stepfather Rodger (revealed as Kym Gyngell), as they fear that after the death of their terminally ill Mum (Lynette Curran) the will could be changed and the family home will no longer be theirs.

Shane’s Terry is the somewhat unwilling one, of course, and he’s amazed at the detail of his brother’s plan (including very personal arrangements so that their DNA can’t be detected in the loo) and increasingly panicky that a point of no return is soon to be reached. Clayton’s Jeff is the more determined, more organised, far cooler and level-headed of the pair. Clayton’s performance is slightly more memorable than Shane’s simply because he’s less familiar onscreen, and the character is so ruthless.

The wonderfully nasty final act here is naturally hard to discuss without giving it all away, and even if you can guess what’s going to happen, it’s still awfully satisfying, and reminds you of one inescapable little fact: no one can hurt you quite like your family.

Rated MA. Brothers’ Nest is in cinemas now.