4 stars of delightfully retro feeling action-horror film.
The Guest is an American action horror film written by Simon Barrett (V/H/S/94 “The Empty Wake”, You’re Next) and directed by Adam Wingard (Blair Witch, Death Note). It was originally released in 2014 and is presented here on Standard Edition 4K/Blu-ray courtesy of Second Sight Films.
“Like I said, me and your son Caleb, we were pretty close. I was with him when he died. And one of the things he asked was for me to check on y’all, you and your whole family here.”
Laura Peterson (Sheila Kelley – Lost, Gossip Girl) and her husband Spencer (Leland Orser – Alien: Resurrection) are mourning the loss of their son Caleb to the war in Afghanistan. Laura opens the door one day to find a young man on the doorstep, David (Dan Stevens – Downton Abbey, Legion). He claims to have served with her son and seems very charming, so Laura invites him to stay as long as he likes.
Spencer has his reservations, however David manages to win him over with his charms and he soon settles in. He gets on well with their other children, helping Luke (Brendan Meyer – The OA, Colour Out of Space) with a bullying problem albeit with some slightly dodgy methods, and giving him a butterfly knife. He even woos daughter Anna (Maika Monroe – Independence Day: Resurgence), to the extent that she makes him a ‘mix tape’, eighties style.
Following a series of disturbing events, Anna suspects that he might not be what he claims to be and contacts the base he supposedly came from, triggering the attention of KPG Corporation, headed up by Major Carver (Lance Reddick – John Wick, White House Down). This sets in motion a terrifying sequence of events, who is David and what does he really want?
The Guest is a thoroughly enjoyable film, well written and expertly directed. It starts out as a well paced psychological thriller, set up beautifully to give us more information than the characters have, we know David is not to be trusted long before they even suspect. 
Dan Stevens puts in an incredibly nuanced and believable performance which carries the story very well. The tension builds and then all of a sudden Bang! Blood and guns everywhere and suddenly we are firmly into action film territory. There are also several satisfying twists.
There are lots of nods in there to other films which are fun to look out for and the whole thing has a gloriously eighties vibe about it. This is very well enhanced by the soundtrack which includes tracks from Dutch rock band Clan of Xymox and SURVIVE (of Stranger Things fame).
All in all an excellent watch and with lots of special features, this will grace the collection of any fans of the genre.
“You know, if I had a girl like you back home, I wouldn’t have gone over to the Middle East to get shot at.”
The Guest is available now on Standard Edition 4K UHD and Blu-ray from Second Sight Films.
SPECIAL FEATURES
• Brand new colour grading for both formats supervised by director Adam Wingard
• UHD presented in Dolby Vision HDR
• New commentary by director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett
• Archive commentary by Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett
• The Uninvited Guest: a new interview with actor Dan Stevens
• A Perfect Stranger: a new interview with actor Maika Monroe
• By Invitation Only: a new interview with Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett
• Producing The Guest: a new interview with producers Keith Calder and Jess Wu Calder
• Light and Fog: a new interview with Director of Photography Robby Baumgartner
• Lightning Strikes: a new interview with Production Designer Tom Hammock
• The Sounds of The Guest: a new interview with Composer Steve Moore
• Deleted / Alternate Scenes, Outtake Gag with optional Director commentary
| Director | Adam Wingard |
| Genre | Action, horror |
| Starring | Dan Stevens, Maika Munroe, Brendan Meyer, Lance Reddick |