Review of The Guest (2014) by Dana F — 24 Oct 2015

The longer this movie sits with me, the more I like it.  On the surface, it's a rehash of every action-thriller cliché you can think of.  But look deeper and you'll see that it's all tongue-in-cheek and exactly what the filmmakers were going for.

  The movie both makes fun of and pays homage to the genre, specifically action-thrillers out of the 80's and 90's (you could actually play a drinking game called "Spot the Terminator references" during this flick).

  The film ups the ante by adding some Tarantino-esque violence and campy humor, which makes it more modern and interesting.  The premise is that a stranger shows up at a family's home, claiming to be the friend of their son who recently died in combat.

  I'm not ruining anything but telling you that this guy is up to no good, as the film makes it very clear that he is more than a little sinister from the very beginning.  I didn't like that the film tipped its hand so early about that.

..in a movie that is absolutely stuffed with references to 80's thrillers, I wish it had been more referential of "Fatal Attraction" in that way, where you get the see the crazy slowly unfold.

  Anyway, the titular "Guest" is played to perfection by Dan Stevens (from Downton Abbey fame... but this ain't the proper, stuffy, doughy Matthew Crawley we know from that show.  Holy God, what a transformation.

*fans self*  Oh my!!).  He plays the part with just the right amount of charm, menace, and humor that the role calls for, and he somehow makes this creepy dude a really likeable character.  The direction is solid and the movie actually sports quite a few good action sequences.

  This movie is a lot of fun if you don't expect realism and understand what you're getting into... a violent and campy version of schlocky 80's/90's action films.   .