The Guest (2014)

A young soldier called Dave turns up at the home of the Peterson family whose son has recently been killed in action overseas . Happy to see their late son's friend they invite Dave to stay longer and Dave quickly ingratiates himself in to the family's affection . But is Dave who he says he is and if not what is his agenda ?

!!!! SUGGESTIVE SPOILERS !!!!!

A familiar story , so much so that before seeing it I had it instantly nailed as a rip off from an episode of Brian Clemens THRILLER from the mid 1970s which had the exact same premise . Premise isn't the same as plot however and despite hitting the occasional plot turn with its bedfellows THE GUEST does have an idiosyncratic feel of its own

It's something of a film of two halves . The first half sets up Dave to both the Peterson family and the audience and right away Dave comes across a very likable guy especially when he sorts out some school bullies on behalf of young Luke and much of his likability is down to the way he's played by Dan Stevens and it wasn't until after seeing the film I found out that Stevens is a Brit .Keep an eye on the name Dan Stevens because you might just be hearing a lot more from him in the future . In fact Dave is so likable I did find myself in agreement with Luke that it doesn't really matter who Dave is or what he's done in the past because anyone who can maim a few school bullies can't be all bad

But THE GUEST has to follow a formula which means Dave has to be a bad man and a bad man is indeed what he is so when Anna Peterson contacts the military and Lance Reddick informs every spook in a fifty mile radius to shoot Dave on sight this gives a clue as to how bad he might be . Actually at this point the film might just be making a detour in to the science fiction genre but to be fair it's not as jarring or as leftfield as it could have been .From the outset Dave surprises people around him . He can run from the bus station to the Peterson house surprising Mrs Peterson , he can consume massive amounts of alcohol without getting drunk etc etc which suggests superhuman abilities along with the suggestion he's not human at all which means despite all the familiarity of the story and its flaws ( The ending is a bit over the top ) THE GUEST is a more intriguing film than you might have expected it to be

Fmovies: The Guest just might be the 'coolest' movie of the year, it certainly features one of the coolest characters of the year, David. The movie has style to spare, from the vibrant lighting, to the retro soundtrack, the movie is easy on the eyes and ears, it's flat out amazing. The soundtrack being the high-point of the film, an a ray of synthesized songs that makes the movie something special. All the technical aspects of the film are more than covered, they are the highlight of the film, and the acting coming from Dan Stevens and Maika Monroe is great.

The story revolves around the cryptic character, David, who stays with the family of a fallen soldier and subtly begins imposing his will on their lives. It's great to see the director know how to handle the material and shift the viewer's opinion of David back and forth, he's shown as the coolest guy at the party, he can do anything and everything, but at the same time you are shown darker glimpses of him that create some type of doubt. It's this doubt that carries the movie along, at first David is the saving grace of the family, he's solving their problems one at a time, but then things slowly start to change for the worse.

Is he who he says he is, is he really there to help, did he really serve with their son/brother, is all of this too good to be true? All these questions remain hidden until the end and rather than take the conventional route with this type of story, the movie takes a somewhat bizarre turn as it reveals what David's motives are and who he is. Though I can imagine some people might have a problem with how light the movie is with the details of who he is, I certainly had no problem with it whatsoever.

I loved just about every single minute in the movie, other than the mother who takes open arms to new heights, this is how low budget thrillers should be. As I said above, the retro soundtrack and directing style coming from Adam Wingard is nothing short of spectacular. This is one of the best hidden gems of the year and sure to gain a very solid cult following as the years go by!

Creepy stranger premise has been used in horror or mystery to varied effect, the latest Jennifer Lopez's flick is an example of how not to welcome this premise. Luckily, The Guest has the luxury of having suave lead actor and good atmosphere for a thriller. Some of the kinks are predictable, but the dark humor as well as bizarre revelations offer much needed novelty to the movie.

David (Dan Stevens) arrives at the Petersons resident, claiming that he was a friend of their fallen son. He's well-mannered and seems trustworthy, thus the family welcomes him openly. Upon his stay, strange accidents begin to happen, and suspicion arises with the casualties. The most important hook is Dan Stevens' portrayal of David. He looks like a rugged debonair, this is not average smooth, this is Ryan Gosling's level of smoothness.

Stevens delivers a wide variety of emotions, he can be either friendly or deadly. Backed by good cast, such as Maika Monroe as the Anna Peterson and Lance Reddick as Mayor Carver, the movie has a solid degree on acting performance. The exchange of banter is enjoyable, often resulting in manipulation or downright violence for David's benefit. It elevates the human drama between him, the Peterson family and whoever unlucky enough to be in their immediately vicinity.

Mystery of David's real identity is crafted slowly and it's compelling enough to pique interest without revealing too much. The film also has a touch of humor, albeit slightly crude. Strangely, in the third act it changes tone drastically for the climax. This shift is a bit odd considering it plays the thriller aspect with steady pace for the majority of early parts, although this explosive tone does have the merit of being entertaining.

There are short bursts of Hollywood style carnage, but they are modest, not all out gunblazing from the start like Bourne or the recent John Wick. Action sequences are well choreographed, it has both devastating and ridiculous impact.. Good practical effect for the blood and explosion as well as its highly unorthodox soundtracks make the faster pace scenes more satisfying.

Having good mesh of action, mystery and comedy, The Guest is enigmatically fascinating.

The Guest fmovies. So a guy who claims to know your dead son turns up at your house one day. He seems nice and looks like that bloke off of Downton so you let him stay for a while... That is pretty much all I knew about this film before I went to see it. What follows is an enjoyable thriller with laughs aplenty and an excellent central performance from Dan Stevens (more on that later).

The plot, at the end of the day, is fairly nonsensical and there are some troubling loose ends that I found a little unsatisfactory. I can't say that any of the story is particularly surprising or original but what does that matter when everyone making it and everyone in the audience seems to be having so much fun? The cinema I was in was probably around half full and while there was nobody in full-on hysterical laughter, there was a satisfactory amount of appreciative chuckling (me included).

I feel that the majority of my enjoyment of this film should really be credited to Dan Stevens in the main role. His character is charming, pleasant and helpful and yet strangely sinister and unsettling from the outset and he plays it absolutely perfectly. You can't help but like him even though you're not sure that you should. Apart from a smallish role in "The Fifth Estate", I am only familiar with Stevens from Downton Abbey and his role in this couldn't have been more different from both of these. I look forward to seeing how his career progresses but this was an excellent example of his versatility as an actor.

Overall a good Saturday night out at the cinema but I can't imagine it is the kind of classic film I would watch again and again.

I went in to the cinema with no expectations with this movie. I watched the trailer and assumed it will be some average movie but I was totally mistaken. The film is very fast paced with surprisingly some humor throughout. There was a lot of gruesome fight scenes (I personally jump watching violent scenes) but I get the reasons why they were there. Dan Stevens was a complete shocker with his performance. If you remember him from Downtown Abbey, his performance here is amazing! He portrays a brilliant character and he does an amazing American accent. All the actors were perfectly cast for this movie. I loved Maika Monroe, she reminded me a lot of Brittany Murphy and Gwen Stefani. The ending was totally not expected and I loved every bit. The music played reminded me a bit of Drive soundtrack but worked brilliant with this movie. I truly recommend the movie!!

Wow! What a gem of a movie. The Guest tells a tale of a mysterious and initially benign-appearing ex-military man who claims to have served with the recently deceased son of the Peterson family. Still grieving their loss, they welcome him with open arms. All is not as it seems however and slowly, despite his psychopathic charm, young Anna Peterson suspects that something is amiss.

What follows is a slick and stylish thriller with fluid action scenes that simmers at first before leading us to an explosive finale. The acting is solid throughout, especially from the two leads Dan Stevens and Maika Monroe who share a nice chemistry. The story, whilst simplistic and sometimes cheesy, is tight and the terse dialogue fits well. Character motivations are deliberately left vague and the film remains focused on the fact it is a thriller and doesn't overburden us with ridiculous a back-story; what back-story there is merely serves as a plot device to set-up the finale. And what a finale! Without giving spoilers, it is one of the most stylish final movie set-pieces I've seen in a long time, interjected with just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek quips. Just shows what can be done with the right set, some nerves and a smoke machine; who needs CGI!

A special mention must be given to the excellent soundtrack which really enhances the tension in some of the key scenes. At times I swore the bass beats were synced with my heart-rate!

Highly enjoyable and highly recommended!