Stranger danger
Let the fright one in...
THE GUEST 15
OUT 29 DECEMBER DVD, BD
Genre pastiches are 10-a-penny in these Tarantinoid times, but The Guest is one of the very best. Dan Stevens (a long way from Downton Abbey) excels in a career-altering performance as David, a mysterious veteran insinuating himself into the family of a dead soldier he claims to have known. If you want more plot, get yourself a boxset – this bare-bones set-up is all director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett (the duo behind You’re Next and A Horrible Way To Die) needs to craft a succession of set-pieces that are by turns fun, scary and enjoyably ludicrous.
A little ludicrousness is no bad thing, given we’re firmly in familiar genre territory, and if the Halloween-set finale is a little on the nose – and David’s mysterious background a little under-examined – it’s worth remembering the journey is as much fun as the destination. Wingard flexes significant versatility – he’s as deft with the Midwestern wide-open spaces as he is with clammy close-ups and brutal bar fights. Stevens, meanwhile, is a revelation, rocking both a flawless US accent and a surprisingly mean way with a broken bottle. If you’d written him off as yet another generically charming posh bloke, think again. And, after less conspicuous turns in The Bling Ring and Labor Day, Maika Monroe registers strongly as the family’s wary daughter, suspicious of the handsome interloper but still susceptible to him wandering around in a towel.
Wisely keeping the throwback winks to a minimum and keeping the focus firmly on potboiler entertainment rather than flaunting its geek cred, this is a true treat – and given its debts to John Carpenter, it shouldn’t be a surprise that there’s a cool synth score. Extras run to a Wingard/ Barrett chat-track and seven deleted scenes.
Extras › Commentary › Deleted scenes