(Photo Courtesy of Picturehouse)Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett sure know how to make a great movie.
The duo, who respectively directed and wrote 2013’s critical hit horror flick “You’re Next,” return to theaters with a film that’s just as fun, bizarre and twisted as one would expect: the new thriller “The Guest.”
“The Guest” stars "Downton Abbey’s" Dan Stevens as David, an ex-soldier who shows up at the Peterson family’s doorstep one day to fulfill the final wishes of their son Caleb, whom he served in the military with. However, things are not as they appear to be and soon the family starts to wonder just who David really is and what his intentions are.
Stevens absolutely nails the role, playing the mysterious stranger in such a way that audiences can’t help but root for him, despite not knowing what his intentions are. Stevens drops his charming accent for an equally charming and captivating southern drawl and adds an odd, at times, smoothness to the character that makes him captivating regardless of his seemingly shifty intentions.
Maika Monroe plays Anna, the Peterson’s oldest child, a typical teenage girl who drinks, smokes and hangs out with a crowd her parents dislike. However, once Anna gets wind that David may not be who he says to be, her character quickly becomes skeptical of everything and everyone. Scenes featuring both her and Stevens become some of the best of the film because of the unrelenting tension between the characters.
The same can be said for scenes featuring Brendan Meyer as Anna’s younger brother, Luke. Luke quickly becomes infatuated with David, and watching their relationship develop over the course of the film provides an intriguing look into the makeup of both characters because of how the actors portray them.
One such scene comes in a bar where David seeks to find the students who bully Luke and send them the message that they’re messing with the wrong kid. Rather than feel like a scripted conversation, the scene feels natural, and the audience sees for the first time why Luke looks up to David.
As he did with “You’re Next,” Barrett takes a familiar genre and turns it on its head. Whereas “You’re Next” put a unique spin on the overdone home invasion sub-genre of horror, “The Guest” does the same for action/thrillers.
Much of this can be attributed to the film’s slow burn pacing. Rather than hit the ground running, the film takes time to develop and humanize its characters so when the action kicks in and the film gets crazy, audiences are both fully engaged with the action as well as concerned as to what will happen to the characters they spent the first 45 minutes of the film getting to know.
Wingard's directing manages to keep the first hour engaging, perfectly complementing Barrett’s stop-and-go script in which the action will escalate for a quick scene and then return to the slow burn drama.
As with his previous two films, Wingard not only allows his film to wear its influences on its sleeve, but revel in them and celebrate the glory of the B-movies of the '80s.
The film naturally gives nods to classics such as “The Terminator” and “Halloween” as well as cult films “Halloween 3: Season of the Witch,” “The Stepfather” and more. It’s rare to find directors that do this, let alone that do this as well as Wingard, and it’s an absolute breath of fresh air.
Arguably, however, the film’s best aspect is composer Stephen Moore’s score, an unbelievably authentic '80s synthesizer score akin to that of John Carpenter’s “Halloween 3." Moore, who used the same synth Carpenter used, takes some of the film’s most fun and ridiculous scenes and make them that much more enjoyable to watch by adding a genuine '80s authenticity to them. Although it isn’t available, I can’t wait to get my hand on a copy to listen to on repeat, because it genuinely is a fun, easy listen.
Perhaps the one area the film slips is during the climactic sequence; the film struggles to decide how seriously it wants to take itself during its final moments. While everything before it, no matter how crazy it gets, it based largely in seriousness, the final scene of the film veers a bit more toward the absurd finale style of the '80s. This isn’t a bad thing, per se, but it is a bit of a jarring tonal shift compared to the rest of the film.
Overall, though, “The Guest” is one of, if not the, most entertaining film watching experience I’ve had all year. It’s an absurd, thrilling, incredibly entertaining '80s throwback that should be seen and enjoyed by all.
Contact the reporter at seweinst@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @S_Weinstein95.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
