Truly Dreadful Film

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

I really enjoyed this film. As so many others have previously remarked it has a retro feel to it harkening back to 1980s thrillers complete with campy, synthesized music. It is also unmistakably inspired by Halloween as the holiday is the backdrop of the movie with tacky decorations in nearly every scene. But the film isn't about the style or the inspiration, it's about the mystery and the tension. David Collins is a recently discharged soldier who suddenly appears at the home of his army buddy, Caleb Peterson, who died in Iraq. Collins explains to his Caleb's mother, Mrs. Peterson, that he promised Caleb he would check on his family should he die. With his affable charm and simple, direct yet respectful way of communication David is taken in by the Peterson family and soon treated as one of their own. Even though there an enigmatic vibe about Collins he also demonstrates a protective nature for the family. However, a series of strange events and unsolved deaths in the small town slowly (and I do mean slowly) ensue which catch the attention of Caleb's sister, once a potential love interest, who grows increasingly alarmed about Collins's activities. There are also several clues dropped that Collins is not who he says he is. Her suspicions inspire her to makes some inquiries with the government about David Collins. Once his location is made known to a certain shadowy organization within the military they mobilize to apprehend him. From there all hell breaks loose. Dan Stevens was fantastic in this. From the start you don't know whether to like him, fear him, trust him, but he does capture your attention and keep it throughout the film. Because you know he has a secret. I think of him as Michael Meyers with dialogue and without the Shatner mask. I have two problems with The Guest. First is the pacing, it is at places very dull and unmoving. But the real problem I have is the development of Collins. By the time it is established that he isn't David Collins but rather an escaped participant from a military project gone awry we want to know more but are denied. We are given only scraps of supporting information about his past and his motivations. For example, it is never really made plain why he appeared at Caleb Peterson's home to begin with other than a passing line about his mission, whatever that means. Other plot and character developments are left hanging such as his plastic surgery, who was the real David Collins, and who is he really? What is HIS real name? Who is the guy he now looks like it in the photo with Caleb and his unit? It's all very confusing and frustrating. I understand it was deliberate choice by the director to leave his character to a certain extent ambiguous but it seems to go too far. Whatever happened to Collins, or whoever he is, during this military project is tied directly to the actions in this film. It doesn't make a lot of sense to deprive the viewer with at least a decent amount of cogent knowledge to support what's happening in the plot. Anyway, it is a decent thriller. Not perfect, not entirely satisfying, but good enough that I watched it twice to see if I missed anything about who Collins really is. Nope, still in the dark about that.

The guest is a very well made movie with great direction and soundtrack. It is definitely entertaining because of the great performance from Dan Stevens and Maika Monroe. The movie sets up mysterious atmosphere really well which contributes to a great beginning but it does lose its thriller touch after the halfway mark. I gave it 7/10 because it wasn't very ambitious in trying to maintain the tension throughout the movie but on the bright side it still manages to be good enough to keep you entertained till the end. Do i recommend ? Yes But don't go expecting a movie worth a Metascore of 76

Director Adam Wingard's lack of interest in convention chimed neatly with Dan Stevens's desire to distance himself from "Downton Abbey" in the weird and not-so-wonderful piece of film-making that is "The Guest". As I noted in my less-than-fulsome review of the (2015) film "The Boy Next Door", "The Guest" - or rather Stevens's portrayal of that guest, bears quite a striking resemblance to the work of Ryan Guzman as Noah in that other (apparently later) film. Sporting a serviceable American accent (somewhat recalling that of Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes), the Brit Stevens appears as David, who starts off by bringing such joy and enrichment to - and a kind of justice on behalf of - a mourning family, that it is all the sicker (and ultimately all the more implausible-looking) when he later turns on said family, which he kills and/or terrorises, in the course of killing and terrorising pretty much everyone else too. Of course, he can't actually help it because - in the second film that emerges out of the cocoon of the first - he is actually a "modified" soldier programmed to kill everyone around him once the safeties are taken off. That is a message that could be offered deeper treatment (as it is somewhat more so in films like "Morgan"), but not too much so in this film.Do I need to say more? The film is violent, at times a bit erotically-charged and all-in-all rather pointless, though one cannot exactly say it is badly-acted. For my money, Maika Moore does especially well here, while poor old Lance Reddick (again playing a somewhat Broyles-like part) hardly gets into his stride before being bumped off. Stevens himself is OK.

'The Guest' is a stereotype-defying thriller with great acting, nice action scenes and real shocker plot twists. A really unpredictable movie - at the start you can't really fathom where the story is going to go and when some secrets are revealed you still can't even guess which characters end up dead.The movie actually combines horror into its action thriller premise. The ending sequence is straight out of a 90's slasher movie.Visually the movie was endlessly pleasing. There are a lot of quiet-type characters and a lot of mystery in the air, so you have a lot of time just processing the production values. The movie takes place in a small town, not much to say about that, but the lighting and the music takes the cake. It's one of those 'neon-noir' movies like 'Drive' or 'John Wick' with colorful lightning and retro synth soundtracks and I hope they make more of this style of movie because it just works.