Buddy System

The Guest

Last August (last Netflix purge) I came across I hidden gem. I had heard small rumblings about the film and was quite intrigued when I found it on Netflix. You’re Next is an interesting take on the home invasion subgenre of Horror films. I was very impressed with the cast, plot, and the director. Before I knew it, director of You’re Next Adam Wingard and his writing partner Simon Barrett had pushed out yet another highly praised film that I seemed to have missed, until now.                 Picturehouse presents The Guest.

Still feeling the pain of the loss of their military son, Laura and Spencer Peterson (Sheila Kelley and Leland Orser respectively) are surprisingly visited by a stranger by the name of David (Dan Stevens Downton Abbey), claiming to have been friends with their son in Afghanistan. The Peterson’s, along with their children Anna and Luke (Maika Monroe and Brendan Meyer) quickly welcome David into their home and their lives. After a few days, strange things start to happen around the Peterson home and Anna starts to investigate who David really is, however she may have just left well enough alone.

The Guest, for me anyway, was a bit of mixed bag. There were things about this film that kept my attention and then there were other things that just turned me off completely. With that being said I am going to try and explain the best way I know how without any spoilers. If I can’t, I’ll give fair warning.

So to start, I really found Stevens absorbing in his take as David. He does a wonderful job getting the audience at ease with his character and yet somehow at the same time gives us this uneasy feeling like he is going to snap at any moment. It was incredible to see him become charming and almost sociopathic at the same time. Unfortunately for the rest of the cast, they all play out like typical horror film characters. No other actor really stood out and separated themselves from the crowd.

I have much respect for Wingard and his attempt to mix a horror film with a thriller type plot. The film is set up like a horror film, building tension toward the climax of the film and of course the female heroine, but it was the thriller aspect that I wished he would have stuck with. The film is too bright to try and be a horror film for me. What I mean is, besides the dust roaming around the New Mexican desert outside the film’s color pallet is to bright. The film never makes me uneasy with the surroundings like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The film never really compensates for the colors with unease unless you are starring at Dan Stevens face. Though with that last comment, I did think that Wingard superbly frames Stevens on screen to get the maximum creep factor from his leading actor.

*SPOILERS* The only other thing that I didn’t really care for about the film was the last act of the film. First off through the whole film you will wonder why “David” just randomly shows up at this particular house. There is a picture in the film with David and Caleb, the Peterson’s son, and a bunch of other soldiers. Why is Caleb so special that David needed to visit his family above the others in his unit? That is never answered. Second is why in God’s name would Wingard and Barrett ruin a perfectly good thriller by saying “David” is a medically enhanced soldier? All believability rush so far out of my body the moment I heard that. After that little factoid, I just wanted the movie to end. Lastly, if Wingard and Barrett were going to drop that little tidbit of information on the audience can we please get a little more explanation. We never learn why he was picked, why he decided to come to the Peterson’s in the middle of New Mexico, and we never learn why he ups and decides to become all homicidal on this poor family. All of that in the last act just through off my mojo about this film. I absolutely adored this film up until the point of medical experimentation came up.

*END OF SPOILERS*

Sorry about that, I just needed to get all of that off my chest. If you enjoyed Wingard’s last couple of films, then I am sure that The Guest will not disappoint either. I loved the first two acts of this film and its leading man, but after one little line of dialogue I was turned off by it. Ironically I do suggest it to fans of the thriller genre strictly for the first half of the film and if you are a Dan Stevens fan.

The Verdict: Worth Most of Your Time. On Netflix now.