Host (2020).
“Can’t we just do like…a board game or something?”
Directed by Rob Savage
Written by Rob Savage and Gemma Hurley
Starring Haley Bishop, Jemma Moore, Emma Louis Webb, Radina Drandova, and Caroline Ward
1. (The Stage)
Six friends jump on a Zoom call to perform an online seance. Unfortunately, they don’t take it seriously, leading to serious consequences.
2. (The Good)
Host is a really great example of relatable horror. Because of the pandemic, we’re ALL familiar with Zoom calls. It plays with common occurrences like pop-up messages, screens stuttering, calls cutting out, “funny” Zoom backgrounds, and even the sound/video quality that we’ve come to expect. It’s perfectly done and makes you feel like you’re in the room with them. The girls have great chemistry together and they have believable, natural conversation.
This film does a wonderful job of creating a creepy atmosphere using the Zoom landscape and has really great sound design. You hear knocks, but you’re not really sure which screen it’s coming from at first. Lights flickering, things moving in the background, and small sounds all add to the tension until inevitably, all hell starts breaking loose. The horror is very well done, even if you’ve seen it all before.
I appreciated Host’s runtime. It’s 57 minutes long. With the streaming platform, movies aren’t beholden to the “It needs to be at least 90 minute” runtime, and this film makes the most of its believable Zoom call length. If you end up tacking more time onto this film for a theatrical run, there’s no doubt that it would become super bloated. It tells a tight story in an easy to digest hour, and that’s literally all that was needed. Streaming movies can be any length. Let’s take some cues from Rob Savage.
3. (The Bad)
This horror formula is one you’ve seen a million times before. This will invoke memories of Unfriended or any other film with a seance scene or a Ouija board huddle. On that note, some of the jump scares and sequences are incredibly predictable, but I still found them to be a lot of fun.
4. (The Ugly)
Oh, Alan. Poor Alan. He wants nothing to do with that Zoom call. Probably on the toilet, checking his Instagram, and then…YOINK.
5. (The End)
This is a really well done, albeit clichéd and predictable horror film. I think that the fact that it takes place during the COVID-19 lockdown and entirely on Zoom will be very relatable to people and masks the minuscule budget, a fact that won’t make you feel guilty for watching it under your covers on your laptop.
Host is an easy recommendation for horror fans.
