The Guest (2014)

If a very handsome and friendly young veteran named David visited your home one afternoon with a warm smile and some very kind words about your son whom he served with overseas....wouldn't YOU invite him over to stay?  That's the main question which kicks off this lean, mean horror thriller directed by aspiring genre master Adam Wingard (You're Next, Godzilla Vs Kong) and starring Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey, Cuckoo) AS David, the titular guest.  It was released ten years ago to much acclaim and minimal box office but has become something of a cult phenomenon via cable, streaming, and physical media since then.  Also co-starring is modern Scream Queen herself, Maika Monroe (It Follows, Longlegs) as Anna the older teenage daughter of the Peterson family which David stays with.  The rest of the family are played by Leland Orser, Sheila Kelly, and Brendan Meyer....and they all start to really like having David around including Anna.  But eventually she starts to suspect that all is NOT as it seems with regards to David....he might be hiding some secrets, some potentially VIOLENT secrets. :o And what results is an unforgettable ride sprinkled with throwback vibes to genre classics from the '70's and '80's including a catchy synth soundtrack!

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Transcript

THE GUEST - 2014

Directed by Adam Wingard

Starring Dan Stevens, Maika Monroe, Brendan Meyer, Sheila Kelley, Leland Orser, Joel David Moore, Ethan Embry, Tabatha Shuan, and Lance Reddick

Genre: Action Horror Thriller (Audio clip)

I can remember after first seeing this about ten years ago, I bought a ton of stock in Dan Stevens, Maika Monroe, and of course director Adam Wingard - I had already seen Stevens in Downton Abbey and was just blown away in how he transitioned from the passive British fop on that show to this. I would eventually see Monroe killing it in It Follows and witness Wingard's mastery again in You're Next...

Well since then, ONLY one of those stocks have seemingly paid dividends - a couple of years ago, Wingard struck gold with Godzilla Vs. Kong which is likely among the most deliriously entertainment blockbusters I have seen in recent years. Dude showed again how he has the makings of a new Carpenter and I can't wait to see which combination of genre muscles he flexes the next time around! :)

As for the two main stars….well it’s been a bumpy ride.  Monroe picked the WRONG IP (Independence Day Resurgence) to jump aboard and Stevens had been a mixed bag. I hear he looked good as the human Beast in Beauty & the Beast but....nah, I wanna see him take on more action roles because he is FANTASTIC in this as the titular Guest.

Just super-cool, super-confident, and super-charming...he plays the mysterious David, a recently discharged Marine (Or is he??) who visits The Peterson's out of the blue. They're a small-town family who lost their oldest son overseas serving in Iraq....who served with David and he has come by to pay his respects. The mother (Sheila Kelly) who's still mourning the loss of her son becomes INSTANTLY smitten and invites him to stay with their family including her drunk husband (Leland Orser), loner son Luke (Brendan Meyer) and older daughter Anna (Monroe) who ALL become smitten with him....and likewise. 

Off the bat, Monroe’s Anna provides a great foil for David’s titular “Guest” - she definitely has the stunned look and temerity of what on paper SEEMS like a tropey "final girl" character but gives her more depth....as shit gets real during the third act, we see the weight of everything on her face. Clearly after this and It Follows, Monroe has made some effort to avoid being typecast but no joke, she had already shown the potential after three movies – INCLUDING the unexpected breakout success of this past summer’s horror thriller Longlegs which she co-stars in with Nicholas Cage - to be a GREAT Scream Queen.

Now back to the overall story, David becomes a confident for each of them....drinking buddy to Dad, big brother protecter (from bullies) to Luke, and potential boyfriend to Anna. But then two sets of strange things start to happen: the Peterson's start to have good things happening to them while....folks start to die around town. 🤔

And from there, Wingard just takes us on a wild ride mixing genres in a way that always keeps you on your toes - this thing is tight, tense, and does feature some very well-executed action sequences along with a growing body count.

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

The soundtrack for this film is just PERFECT with a mixture of synth New Wave and goth tunes from Sisters of Mercy, Clan of Xymox, Survive, Love & Rockets.....including one standout track from techno veteran Mike Simoetti playing over a true standout sequence early when David takes Luke to a local bar to drink a Fireball and cause some trouble.  I’ll get to that one in just a bit. (Audio clip) 

But for me, the TRUE standout song is a slower but no less rousing number which plays over final violent confrontation…..at the strangely under-attended Halloween dance ball at the local high school within an auditorium filled with fog and fake smoke.  It’s not David facing off with the remaining survivors of this family – Anna and Luke – he’s trying to kill but you can KINDA tell that his heart is no longer completely in it. (Audio clip) 

And just as the showdown kicks off between Anna and David, we start to hear the soothing retro sound of Norwegian pop princess Annie….with a very catchy remix of a single of hers that sounds as if it came out in 1985 but was actually performed and released by her in 2009.  It’s all just so perfectly synced with the action on screen that you would almost be forgiven for thinking that this feels SO much like a music video.  But it blends organically with the story and these characters – the song is “Anthonio” (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

Sadly it was the recent untimely passing of Lance Reddick which most recently inspired me to rewatch this as this remains one of my favorites of his. :( Lance Reddick joins the party in the second half as Major Carver, a former trainer AND handler for the secret military program which Davis was a part of.  He's fun to watch of course basically as this film's version of Dr. Loomis but much more heavily armed….and  he’s in it JUST enough that I would have liked a bit more. (Audio clip) 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

Now back to that bar scene, this sequence is just five minutes of pure gold….humor, action, and suspense blended perfectly.  And keep in mind that up until this point, we haven’t REALLY seen Steven’s David in action AND of course Luke isn’t old enough to drink.  Not that it matters because Luke isn’t the ONLY patron of the bar who is underage…..which David uses to his advantage….(Audio clip)   

Needless to say, David is looking for a fight……oh and he GETS it.  Just the whole way this scene builds is exquisite with one unforgettable beat occurring when David has liquor thrown in his face.  The way he calmly moves his hand down his face to wipe off, the expression on his face as it changes, AND that Simonetti synth music cue playing while this occurs…..well we have little doubt from this point of the movie that Davd is a FORCE to be reckoned with. (Audio clip) 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

At the core of what makes this movie REALLY cook is just a lights-out performance from Stevens who does so many interesting things with just a glance or the way he wipes his face....he's extremely charming and menacing, depending on the moment and yes SINCE seeing him in this, he had been one of my dream choices to play the next Bond. 🤫 (Audio clip) 

During the second half of the film when David is just in full-on monster mode now, we see him committing acts of murder SO callously and yet he makes them very compelling, ALMOST seeming relatable while he’s conducting them.  One such moment occurs when we watch David almost off-handedly toss a couple of grenades into the main hall of a diner to kill the waitress whom he recently a fling with….not only exploding her but several patrons in the restaurant.  Just the strange, exasperated look on his face as he does this….it’s a unique choice for a horror villain and as an actor.  He just sells the gruesome weirdness of someone who is TOO good at this type of thing to care about the consequences but still feels inconvenienced.  For delivering a performance as one of the best genre villains of recent years, Dan Stevens is the MVP. 

Final Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

Just a fun, crazy genre gem which to me has become one of the most rewatchable movies of recent years, I just adore this movie!

Streaming on Apple TV+

And that ends another review!