Delayed Reaction: The Guest

The Pitch: A stranger shows up, claiming to be a veteran from the same troupe as a family's deceased son and proceeds to wreck their lives.

As I said in my Blair Witch reaction, I couldn't be more in the can for the writer/director team Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett than I currently am. Their work on V/H/S, V/H/S 2, and You're Next has me curious about whatever else they make. The Guest is very much in the vein of You're Next. It's more horror-thriller than horror-scary. The biggest concern in the film is making sure Dan Stevens looks cool. The music selection for any time he walks into the room is slick and a little foreboding. It's a film that is in love with its villain.

I was more interested in the beginning, as the family slowly realizes the kind of person Stevens is, than in the end when it's just a murderous chase. I laughed at how convenient it was that the high school just happens to have a horror maze set up. Maika Monroe pulled off a nice horror back-to-back following this with It Follows. She runs scared with the best of them, so good for her. I wouldn't recommend this for anyone looking to be scared. Maybe mildly unsettled. It is pretty good for thrills though.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend