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If anyone knows our site you know we have an unhealthy proclivity for the 1980s. It's what made us the animals we are today. Ultra-violence, one-liners, and many many more hyphenated phrases came from this glorious decade of excess. What's even better is that the people who are our age are now directing films and a lot of them have the same sensibilities as we do....what a wonderful world we live in. This brings me to "The Guest" another effort from Adam Wingard who has also worked on "V/H/S" "The ABCs of Death" and "You're Next." However, "The Guest" is his strongest effort so far and is a true homage to the 80s thrillers of yesteryear.
The film starts with a shot of a man running from something and, BOOM, title card. You already know this film is going to be good. Next, we meet The Peterson family who have recently lost a member of their family, Caleb, to war. There comes a knock at the door and enter David, the good-looking ex-soldier friend of Caleb who has been tasked with helping the family anyway possible. Rounding out the family, outside of the grieving mother Laura is Spencer, the father, daughter Anna, and bullied son Luke. Upon David's arrival in town things slowly start happening that both benefit the Peterson family and make them very uncomfortable. As tension reaches a boiling point, both the Petersons and their town will never be the same. Going any further with the story would be a disservice.
I'll preface before I continue. Yes, there is a story in this film, and it's rather weak and limited, but that doesn't mean it's not fun. So, "The Guest," yeah, this movie is awesome. It's an incredible, earnest throwback to anything made by John Carpenter, namely "Assault in Precinct 13" and the unstoppable force theme of "Halloween." There are also dashes of "Fear" and "Drive." What makes the film work, however, is the slow burn of "Guest." You have a feeling right off the bat that something isn't quite right with David and just when you think there is a logical explanation, the film takes a turn that isn't quite expected, and that's where some people might turn away and write the film off. However, if you know anything about thrillers in the 80s and early 90s, this was par for the course. You expected something ridiculous to happen, and eventually it does, with blood-soaked glee (hey, another hyphenated word).
On to more gloating about this film....the soundtrack. Again, if you love John Carpenter or anything other synth-forward (hyphenated again) 80s soundtrack, again, this is the film for you. I'll be the first to say that while I love the "Halloween" soundtrack, my favorite Carpenter score is by and far, "Christine." It's pulse-pounding, driving, literally, and incredibly unrelenting, very much like the soundtrack for "Guest." While there are some cheesy bits thrown in, the work by Steve Moore is impeccably 80s and it works with the tone of the film.
If I was to criticize anything from the film, it would be the thin plot, or lack there of a plot. This film is strictly for people well versed in 80s cinema, the pacing, and the style. Adam Wingard is obviously well-versed in what he thinks people wants to see in a throwback piece like this, and while some people might knock the film for that, and I understand, that doesn't make them right.
After singing the praises of "The Guest" nearly this entire review, is it worth the praise. Well, duh, of course it is. It's a great throwback film with a style all it's own and it's super entertaining. Is it zany and lacks sense, of course it does, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Fun Fact: In the original screenplay, the story took place in Korea and it had far more action, including a car chase that was 50 pages long.
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