Tag: The Guest

Seance (2021)

I’m a big fan of You’re Next and The Guest, which were both written by Simon Barrett, so I was keen for his directorial debut, Seance (2021). A horror movie set in an all-girls boarding school during wintertime, the film begins with a prank gone awry that accidentally causes the death of a student. With a place now available at the school, new student Camille (played by Suki Waterhouse) finds herself at odds with the reigning group of girls (the same gang responsible for the prank) while also dealing with her room possibly being haunted. With a dance rehearsal sequence that recalls Suspiria on a lower budget, Seance also brings to mind the wave of teen horror from the 1990s onwards with CW channel type actors being picked off one by one. Atmospheric and patient in setting up the presence of a campus killer, Waterhouse makes for a great lead and much like You’re Next, there was (to me, at least) a satisfying climactic pay-off that pushes the violence and gore further. Effective synth-trap score by Sicker Man. While it remains a little bit clunky and standard at points (particularly in comparison to the original Black Christmas which this recalls in its wintery setting), I thought it was a fun, spooky thriller that bodes well for Barrett’s future work as a director. Available to stream on Shudder. Recommended.

The Guest (2014)

There’s a knowingness that propels The Guest (2014) into a delightful combination of humour and tension. Director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett (the team behind You’re Next) establish patience with their set-up: a soldier, David (Dan Stevens), turns up on the doorstep of a grieving family whose dead son he served with in the military. Straight from the John Carpenter styled title card, there’s an expectation established that something isn’t right with David, and Stevens’ performance plays upon an unnerving sense of confidence that attracts the family to him and his presence. Confidence is what the film has plenty of, injecting comic dimensions to scenes played utterly straight – the puff of steam and Sisters of Mercy sound cue that announces the half-naked David from the shower to the daughter’s gaze (Maika Monroe) or the way a chopping knife is played with during a family argument where suspicions about David are announced. The goth-industrial-electro soundtrack (scored by Steve Moore) gifts everything with a dreamy dimension, even as the careful unveiling of plot revelation eventually turns into over-the-top action and horror movie set design atmosphere thanks to its Halloween season setting. A B-movie throw-back that creates its own sense of cohesion and originality within its entertainingly crafted genre mash-up. Recommended.