Host

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog. For those who know me you know about my love for horror films so once a month, I’m going to review and discuss a scary flick. We’ll look at the classics, and some new films, and I want your suggestions on what I should review. I’ll do my best to cover all the different genres within the genre – slashers, ghosts, monsters, etc. 

SPOILER ALERT! – These will be reviews so if you haven’t seen the movie you’ll want to watch it first before you read this. Let’s do this.

host

What if I told you that one of the most effective horror films of 2020 was shot entirely over Zoom during lockdown? Deal? Or no deal? Well, enter Host, a 56-minute supernatural nightmare that proves you don't need a big budget or fancy locations to scare the hell out of people (we love films like that, right?)

Host is a 2020 horror film directed by Rob Savage, a Welsh filmmaker who previously made his mark with short films before this breakout feature. This film takes place entirely over Zoom - what they call a computer screen movie. It was recorded, filmed, shot, and created during the COVID-19 pandemic. Talk about right place, right time.

The film stars six friends in England who have a weekly Zoom call to check in with each other since they couldn't see people in person (sound familiar?). This time they decide to spice things up and have a séance, bringing in a woman they think is a medium named Seylan. At first, nothing's happening, so one of their friends, Jemma, decides to BS everyone. She makes up a story about knowing a spirit named Jack who supposedly died in her school and claims he's touching her neck. The medium buys it initially, but then her call drops off and she gets disconnected.

That's when the real trouble starts.

Turns out you really shouldn’t mess around with the spirit world (as we’ve mentioned in previous reviews) and Jemma's lie has consequences. Weird stuff really does start to happen - like when Caroline goes up into her attic and we get this incredible panning shot where the camera goes around and sees hanging feet. As the camera pans back, they're gone. Really effective filmmaking.

Haley is our main character here - she's the one who set this whole séance up and she's the true believer. The rest of the girls are just like whatever, we'll try this, but Haley keeps warning them don't mess with this, don't screw around. Of course, nobody listens. Soon she gets dragged across the room in her chair, and genuinely terrifying things start happening to all of them.

When they manage to get Seylan on the phone, she explains the situation: "What about that friend you mentioned?" Jemma admits she made Jack up completely. Well, congratulations - you've just invited a very pissed-off demonic entity because you lied to the spirit world. Seylan starts to explain how to end this event but is cut off by the demon. This entity is not happy about being lied to, and it's coming for all of them.

The kills in this movie are brutal and creative. Radina's boyfriend drops from the ceiling and dies horribly. Caroline appears to be doing chores in her room thanks to a screensaver, but then it cuts back to show her head getting smashed into her computer screen repeatedly. One by one, these people start to die in increasingly horrible ways, and as this is all happening, that beautiful pop-up screen appears: You have 10 minutes remaining in your free meeting. It's both hilarious and terrifying - classic dark comedy timing.

Emma gets one of the best sequences when she starts throwing flour all over her floor so you can see the demon's footprints walking around. Really spooky stuff that shows you don't need expensive CGI to create effective scares. Teddy, who had missed most of the action because his girlfriend hung up his call earlier, jumps back into the call just in time for us to witness his girlfriend get picked up by the spirit, have her neck broken, and get dropped in their pool. He tries to run but ends up getting burned alive.

Jemma, realizing she caused this whole mess, leaves her house and goes over to Haley's to help. The entity knocks her out with a bottle, but she comes to and finds Haley still alive. They try to escape, taking photos to light their way through the darkness. The last shot is a quick glimpse of some spirit or human form - boom, real fast, you can't tell what it is - and then it cuts as you guessed it – your 40 minute free meeting has ended!

Here's what makes this movie so brilliant: they actually recorded this entire thing on Zoom. Director Rob Savage gave the actors cues remotely, told them how to run their cameras, how to do their makeup, all while they were in their own homes. He would type individual instructions to each actor during filming without the others knowing - SO Blair Witch Project approach. "Hey, I need you to do this, but so-and-so doesn't know about this." That kind of isolated direction creates genuine reactions.

I get serious Paranormal Activity vibes from this movie, but also of scenes from Halloween: Resurrection – but much better than those two. They used a regular video calling app to make a film during a global pandemic. It's only 56 minutes, but it really does its job effectively. The film is a total sign of the times - all the little details like make sure you're muted, bad camera angles, frozen screens, connection issues. This is exactly what the world was in 2020, and if something like this had actually happened during lockdown, it would've been terrifying.

What I love most is how current it feels. This isn't just another found footage horror movie – and I’m not sure it is a found footage movie so much as it is a film about a moment in time and specifically about our pandemic experience. The isolation, the dependence on video calls to maintain human connection, the way technology both brings us together and leaves us vulnerable. Savage managed to take a world that was already on edge and take it up a notch.

Host proves that innovation and creativity matter more than budget. At 56 minutes, it doesn't overstay its welcome, delivers genuine scares, and creates something uniquely of its moment. It's spooky, it's smart, and it's a total sign of the times. For a movie made entirely remotely during lockdown, this thing really performs.

Overall? I’m impressed. Now excuse me while I go cancel all my Zoom settings.

Enjoy the trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRjG65M6L2c