It is so nice to finally watch a newly released film. I know there have been quite a lot of films released on VOD the last few months but ‘Host’ (2020) is the first that I have actually sat down to watch. I had heard a lot of positive responses to the film and I have been in a huge horror film spurge recently, so it seemed a great choice. And I can confirm that I have joined the growing list of people who really liked this film. The film, set during quarantine, follows a group of friends on their weekly zoom chat where one of the friends, Haley (Haley Bishop) has organised a séance for the group to take part in. Another of friends, Jemma (Jemma Moore), being sceptical and looking to make the situation more exciting makes up a story of a boy who committed suicide at her school and says he is trying to contact her. This inadvertently allows a demonic presence to start tormenting the group, forcing them to fight for their lives.
For those of you who were reading my reviews during lockdown you may remember I watched ‘Unfriended’ (2014) and didn’t have too many kind words to say about it. One of my criticism was in the gimmick of the film being entirely from the perspective of one of the characters computer screens. ‘Host’ does the same thing and yet here it works, and that is because it doesn’t get bogged down in anything other than the Zoom chat. There is always something going on, even if it is static shots of the group chatting. These moments are helped by the fact that all the characters are likeable, have well established personalities and are likeable. This allows you as an audience member to be invested in these characters when all the horror kicks in making the whole experience far more tense than it would be if I disliked these characters (very much like I did in ‘Unfriended’). What is most impressive about this film is how much they manage to do with such limited (or at least seemingly limited) resources. As in many paranormal style horrors films the scars start small and get more extreme as the film moves towards its climax. Along the way there are a fair few special effects shots that are very impressive. Granted, a lot of these effects’ shots happen in the dark, so it is easier to hide any flaws in them, but that is neither here nor there. I was genuinely impressed with how much the filmmakers and actors were able to do all while shooting the film remotely and they definitely deserve praise for that. The best aspect of the film is its length, with the film coming in at under an hour in length. Now, I am known to use a short runtime as a sarcastic positive in films I dislike, but in the case of ‘Host’ it is a genuinely positive choice to have it be so short. The film does not mess around. It spends ten minutes setting up the premise and our characters before just getting into it. It only does as much narratively as it needs to before starting the scares and it is so refreshing. Most paranormal films like this take so long to set up backstories and have all the initial scares be really boring obvious shit (doors opening slowly, quiet noises, etc), but this film starts intense and builds on the intensity and the fact that it is so short means there is no time to let up, no time to let the audience breathe. It leads to a really fun, if uncomfortable, viewing experience.
I thought I had got to a point where jump scares did absolutely nothing for me. Yes, they may occasionally get a physical reaction out of me, but they don’t have a mental effect on me for the most part. Well, step forward ‘Host’ to take those words and shove them right back in my mouth. This film is the first film I can remember that genuinely scared me with a jump scare on more than one occasion. And when I say scared, I mean almost falling out of my chair, hiding behind my hands levels of scared. It is the type of being scared that I thought had been lost to me and it was so refreshing to see a film that could have that effect on me. Although it is the type of scare that is more fleeting than the lingering sense of dread that I most enjoy in my horror films, when they are done well they are very effective and this film pulled off its jump scares expertly. But what I appreciated is that it didn’t just rely on jump scares. There are several moments in the film that are based on the building of tension through visual scares which puts the audience in a state of tension so that when the jump scares do come, they are much more effective. But what I liked most about the film is that it was a ton of fun. It does exactly what this type of horror film should do and does it well and it results in a film that was genuinely a blast, even if I did almost shit myself.
I’m glad that the first new film I have seen in months was a great one. I was a little sceptical as it seemed like a film that was going to be just a jump scare fest in the mould of ‘Unfriended’, but I was more than pleasantly surprised. Yes, it does have jump scares but they are some of the most effective jump scares I have seen in a long time, and they are built up brilliantly with some genuine moments of true tension that leave you with chills. It is a really well-made film with its limited resources and the performances are all solid. If you like your horror films it is definitely worth checking out, and if you don’t like your horror films then I don’t know what to tell you. Your missing out.