"For fucks sake Jemma’!"
Host is Directed by Rob Savage who co wrote with Jed Shepard & Gemma Hurley and I must say is a creative and unique use of what the world is going through right now with quarantine and lockdown. Others have tried to create horror and chills through films like Unfriended, Hacked or Followed but in my opinion do not come close to how this film made me feel.
Six friends get together for their weekly Zoom catch up and instead of your standard board games or quizzes (because aren’t we all fed up of them now) group leader Haley organises an online séance. Each one of them must bring a ‘trigger object’ and have their candle lit in front of them. Haley allows the medium who she has done this with before to enter the meeting and this is where we learn the rules. If they had listened to the rules, they would know to take this seriously and treat the spirits with respect. But, one character (fucking Jemma) does not.
"The whole set up injects some real fear, terror and scares."
After losing her internet connection, the medium disappears. Leaving these ladies with their poor choice of disrespect, Jemma who finds it funny with Haley clearly being pissed off while the others play happy medium. This is where the chills begin. I do not want to ruin the film because at only 56 minutes (the length of a free Zoom meeting) it is an easy film to watch and think everyone should check it out. Using the chills which we have seen time and time again in paranormal films throughout the years you would think it would be tiresome but for some reason the whole set up injects some real fear, terror and scares. I love my horror films and I will admit that I did jump occasionally, I am never afraid to admit that because I get a thrill of being scared.
I must shout out to the cast of this film who’s repour with each other feels unique and authentic, bouncing off each other with banter and sarcastic remarks which genuine friends tend to do but it also allows for a quick and easy introduction into their friendship and who has issues with who. It is a great cast for a fantastic little gem of a film, cleverly directed, with great use of chills which is what we look for in a movie like this. I would love to discover how this film was made during lockdown…or was it all real? I doubt it but who the fuck knows. Its 2020.
"A fantastic little gem of a film!"
Host will not be for everyone, but I do urge people to give it a go as it’s one of the better found-footage films. Shudder is a fantastic platform for horror, and it is great to see films like this succeed, be watched and more importantly talked about.
4/5
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