The Guest (2014) Directed by Adam Wingard. With Dan Stevens, Maika Monroe, Brendan Meyer, Sheila Kelley and Leland Orser.
From cult-horror director Adam Wingard, The Guest is a horror-lite-thriller about man (Stevens) visiting the bereaved family of a soldier killer in combat, claiming to be a close friend of their deceased son.
The star of the film, Dan Stevens, appears like a cross between Ryan Gosling in Drive and Chris Evans as Captain America – smooth and handsome, but with an unnerving amount of confidence that creates an early inkling of something not quite right. After meeting Mom, he’s gradually introduced to the rest of the family of four – quickly acquainting himself with each member.
After only a few minutes, it’s plainly evident we’re on familiar turf as the story sets about moving its characters into predictable plot situations. After Stevens, the elder sister of the family (Maika Monroe) is perhaps given the most amount of screen-time – styled as sexy college-girl bait for the antagonist, which is about the extent of our invitation to get to know her.
With its soundtrack, the film seems to ape Drive with an indie/electronic track selection, yet it feels a little inflicted. Where the songs in Drive were cool and complimented the scenes, it feels like The Guest is trying hard prescribe its own ‘cool’, which is where it partly comes up short.
While the execution is patchily good and the shot selections and camera work are fine, there is an abiding sense that it’s too derivative to embrace, leaving a hollow feeling. The finale devolves further still with a tacked-on ending, complete with the speculative sowing of franchise seeds – please no! Although Dan Stevens is good value in the lead role, don’t be surprised to find yourself comparing The Guest to much better films. 2.5/5
Gareth Rhodes Film Reviews 
Oh I really loved this! I thought itw as great but the ending was a little silly. I was laughing and not sure if I was supposed to be?!
But the first 40 minutes of the film are SO good! I love when he beats up the bullies in the bar and I love the soundtrack and I love Dan Stevens (his US accent was great!)
If you look at Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 90%, meaning most of the critics agree that it’s a great movie.
It’s not like me to go against the grain, but it just hit me as so seen-it-all-before. I did like Dan Stevens, though.
The funny thing is – I watched it last night! Because of your review 🙂 I think that’s pretty cool!
Emma, that’s very cool – thank you so much for letting me know. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll be channel-hopping and I’ll stumble across The Guest again and find a better film than I remember. 🙂
I thought the story was the evil twin of Jason Bourne, but I did like the music… and your review. 😀
I was on similar lines – thinking more evil Captain America. Thank you, my friend. 🙂
I did like your Drive-x-Captain America – that’s a heck of a visual. 😀
Definitely agree with you. You’ve been more generous than I would have been on its rating.
I didn’t hate it, I just found it very predictable, which took away any and all suspense. The critics came out in force in favour of it, though, which completely mystifies me.
It was like a clip show, you could see where everything came from. I wouldn’t have minded that so much if it was tongue in cheek about it. I didn’t get the critics either, feeling the same about Inside Out right now.
I’m genuinely baffled by the overly positive response. In ten years time, no-one will remember or care about this film. That’s my prediction.
You are probably right.
I really liked this movie. Too bad you didn’t, but I see where you’re coming from. It gets ridiculous towards the end but I think it did build up to it. Either way, great post!
Thank you, Mel. I’m not usually one to argue with the consensus of opinion, but I struggled with this one. I can see that most people seem to really like it. I guess I’m the odd one out, this time. 🙂
Adored the film.
I’m glad it worked for you, Lukas. So many people feel the same way. The reviews are wholly positive.
Great review! 🙂 I just reviewed this one as well & totally couldn’t help but compare it to Drive. I wanted to love it but I didn’t quite know what to think of it….
Phew! It’s good to find someone else who struggled with it – at least I know that I’m not alone. Honestly, the film didn’t surprise me one bit. I didn’t find it mysterious or suspenseful, just increasingly dumb and overly derivative. All I could think of was how much of a better film Drive was. Thank you. 🙂
Great review Gareth – not something I fancy seeing to be honest but the Ryan Gosling/Chris Evans (not myself haha) was lingering at the back of my mind when I saw the trailers a while back!
Thank you, my friend.
I’m against the run of popular opinion on this one. It might be worth a spin if you’re in the mood for one of those thrillers with a horror-lite edge.