The Guest (2014)

Strong and Moving!

Pretty Good

Excellent adaptation.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

To be honest I watched this movie solely based on the reviews and its rating on IMDB.I was pretty disappointed. An unimaginative plot line and virtually no character build up. You just can't really care about these people as you know so little about most of them. And what's this thing with Americans and guns? As with so many US movies this ends in a massive shoot out. The twist at the end is risible, to say the least.An ideal movie to watch with pizza, a few beers and friends. When you want something in the background that you don't really have to concentrate on to follow - it's that predictable..

The movie has some good actions scenes but has many plot issues, watch only if you have some time to kill and you dont look for logics

I felt intrigued by the work of Adam Wingard after watching one of his short movies in the V/H/S. Now that he stepped up to make an indie movie, I was kind of interested. And thus, The Guest was born.The Guest is horror-thriller movie, which stars Dan Stevens, Maika Monroe and other not so very known actors. What confuses me about the categorization of this movie, is the "horror" label. This movie isn't horror, HOWEVER it is made to LOOK like a horror movie. To be exact, The Guest is a homage to 80's slasher flicks, and it does it without ripping off any movie really.==== SPOILER ALERT / SPOILER ALERT / SPOILER ALERT ==== Plot: A man claiming to be the friend of a son, that the Petersen family lost visits the family in an effort to take care of them. However, soon it is discovered that this new visitor is much more on the surface.The plot sure is something new. Never have I seen really an idea so well incorporated into a feature length movie, that The Guest succeeds at. The movie is essentially built up as a horror movie, particularly a 80's slasher. That's what makes this movie kind of enjoyable, as it tries to pay homage to then known horror movies with scream queens, unstoppable antagonists and synthwave/retro music popularized by John Carpenter.Acting: Dan Stevens comes off as an interesting, but ominous character, that has charisma and intelligence. Every time he was on screen, his influence could be seen on the other characters as well. The interaction between characters is also very very well done. Its fluid and smooth, because in here you actually CARE about the family members and even the guest himself becomes extremely likable. Character development is strong with this movie at least, so if you want to see that sort of interaction, this movie is fit for that. Here's a bit of a spoiler: there's a scene with two characters discussing on keeping a secret from flowing outside by putting it just between them. It tells about professionalism, that these officials have for the sake of the plot and the pacing.Soundtrack: As the movie is basically a 80's slasher flick, the entire OST consists of remixes of electronic songs or completely made up songs that feature synthwave/electro punk/wave genres. This is one aspect, that makes this movie feel like a blast from the past.Cinematography: Not much can be said about it, however there are several shots of Dan Steven's character looking straight into the camera for a handful of seconds. Even though his expressions are neutral, he still looks menacing, especially due to the fact that he is a tad bit too friendly.Overall: The movie is one of those gems, that people will eventually come to. It has great acting, music and action to keep it refreshing and original. It's pacing is one of the best things, as said before, since its developed as a horror movie from start to finish. I recommend The Guest for those wanting something different and organic. It's fun, thrilling and enjoyable. 9/10.

You know those films that are good for an hour and slowly descend till you no longer like them, here is the latest of that long line of films. I enjoyed the first hour and then it's watchable for the next ten minutes up till the final twenty minutes, which are chaotic, mindless and nonsensical. Dan Stevens gives a good performance despite his character devolving into an unlikeable psychopath as the film progresses, as for the supporting cast they are decent, among the cast are Maika Monroe who plays the daughter Anna Peterson, Sheila Kelly as her mother Laura Peterson and Lance Reddick as Major Carver. The script has a lot of good humour in the first half, including a bar sequence and a party, sure they don't break any new ground, but them two sequences are fairly amusing and very fun here, also good is the direction from Adam Wingard, the soundtrack ranges from good to okay and there's some decent, original dialogue. However the film is undone by a dreadful climax (which is also mean spirited and unnecessary), where plausibility, likability and intelligence all take a back seat, I refer to the plot twist which I will not disclose, but if you're expecting some sort of smart plot development you'll be extremely disappointed, like I was. Overall The Guest is not necessarily a bad film, just one that ends up a disappointment due to some poor decisions by the screenwriters within the climax and a stupid, brainless ending that will have you asking the question "Do filmmakers actually expect you to believe this"?