“The Guest” Japanese Theatrical Poster
Director: Adam Wingard
Writer: Simon Barrett
Cast: Dan Stevens, Maika Monroe, Brendan Meyer, Sheila Kelley, Leland Orser, Lance Reddick, Chase Williamson, Jesse Luken, Ethan Embry, Joel David Moore
Running Time: 99 min.
By Jeff Bona
“Don’t overrate someone, unless you want to harm him/her.”
― Abdullah Muhammad Farabi
When I think of You’re Next (2011), I think of the French film, Them (2006) and its “unofficial” U.S. remake, The Strangers (2008). It’s almost as if the You’re Next director watched both movies, then thought to himself: “Not bad, but they’re missing a twist and a resolution.” Little did he know, it was the lack of a conventional structure that made those two films so great. As it stands, You’re Next is an impressive copycat until it becomes absolutely unwatchable, due to its poorly executed twist and a sloppy second half. Good job, guys.
The guys I speak of are Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett, director and writer, respectively, of You’re Next. The two return with yet another “home invasion” movie called The Guest, which I describe as a slasher flick meets Charles Whitman with a dash of Jason Bourne.
The Guest follows a stranger named David (played impressively by Dan Stevens), who makes an unannounced visit to a broken family – consisting of an alcoholic father, a grieving wife, a rebellious daughter and a bullied son. David claims to be a fellow soldier of their older son who had recently died while serving in Afghanistan. Because of David’s compassion and charm, the family welcomes him with open arms, but after they warm up to him, all bloody hell starts to break loose…
Although The Guest is an improvement over You’re Next, Wingard and Barrett, once again, overpower their smidge-sized brilliance with spotty storytelling and a handful of idiotic moments. It’s amazing how these guys are able to give Stevie B’s R&B ballad “Because I Love You” a purpose (clever), then they mess things up by setting the film’s climax in a haunted house (not so clever).
The Guest is sorta like those cheap All-in-One printers everyone keeps on purchasing: Great price, decent printing, but the scanner sucks and the copier breaks down before you even get a chance to use it. One minute, it’s John Hughes’ Uncle Buck (1989), the next minute, it’s a decent little action film; then out of the blue, it becomes a third-rate, straight-to-video horror flick. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself picking it apart due to its to its sheer stupidity, intentional or not.
Honestly, I don’t understand what the big deal is about Wingard and Barrett. Everyone seems to love their output. Sure, Wingard is a decent filmmaker who, as a bonus, lays down some great 80s-style synth tunes. And Barrett seems like a passable writer. They both have potential. But maybe the two should part ways and find someone new to collaborate with, because together, their creations seem to start off on the right track, but end up derailing in areas that matter most.
If you’re in it mainly for the brutality, The Guest should serve you well. After all, that’s what Wingard is good at: fusing horror with Steven Seagal-type action. The film is also the perfect opportunity to root for the bad guy, especially if there’s nothing else going on in your life.
All in all, if you have low expectations – or just bad taste – you might be pleased. Otherwise, The Guest is seriously overrated.
Jeff Bona’s Rating: 5/10
damn i enjoyed the film it gave both an 80s and modern feel very b moviesh which i enjoyed i like that it doesn’t take itself to seriously and i wasn’t really bothered by the story side i enjoyed the odd personality of the lead actor more than i enjoyed the other characters if i could describe it the film would be the terminator (from the terminators viewpoint) you can tell by the soundtrack and the ending of the film its a homage to the 80s anyway im a bit surprised by the score as if you thought from what you’ve read or heard it was going to be an all out actioner if you watched it with an open mind i would give it an 8 or 7 because when the credits rolled i was fully satisfied
I appreciate the comment. One of the best things about the movie is the director’s choice of music. Love the synth (like you said, it has that Terminator/80s vibe). Honestly, I walked into it with low expectations and was once again put off by how good it could have been. Not to be on the defense, but my mind is always open when it comes to movies (loved Denis Villeneuve’s ENEMY, which a VERY open mind is strictly required). Like I said, these guys are capable of making something great. They just need to fine tune their craft and ease up on the cheesy stuff.
Ah, The Guest. This could have been much better than it was.
As others have stated, The Guest felt like The Bourne Identity as a horror film. I liked almost everything about the movie up until the unwelcome cliches started popping up. For Dan Stevens to go from a tragic dark anti-hero to a typical “boogeyman” character was a cheap transition.
How is it that an uber-military trained guy can go from dispatching targets in a flash to not being able to catch a couple of kids? Even when they’re not running as fast as they can, he’s barely keeping up.
I felt like he became the villain for no reason. The movie tries to be clever by presenting Lance Reddick as an antagonist, and hat was all for nothing. After Dan showed his true colors, there was nothing to care about in the film anymore.
It’s a shame since everything else about Dan Stevens was great.
lol Maybe I was a bit too harsh on this one. Or maybe I was just expecting more. Best part of the movie is when a Stevie B song plays.
Nah. You had a pretty fair assessment. I’d hope Stevens does more brutal action flicks in the future.
Definitely look forward to seeing Stevens in Gareth Evans’ APOSTLE (who isn’t?)