The Guest - The good outways the bad

It can’t just be me, but when I watch a film, if there’s enough good in there to keep me entertained, I’m much more lenient on it when it comes to its weaknesses. ‘The Guest’ is by no means a perfect film, but I did find it good enough to forgive when its plot went a little skittish.

I read someone else’s review online when they said it was a film of two halves – they likened the first half to the TV series ‘Homeland’ and the second act to ‘Dexter.’ Now, I haven’t actually seen Homeland, so I can’t say how true that is, but I get where they’re coming from.  The second half does have a distinctly different flavour to what comes before it.  It opens with an ex US serviceman paying a visit to a family whose son was killed in a war.  According to him, he knew their son and is there to pay his respects.  Naturally, things aren’t always what they seem.

The first half is pretty tense and creepy with a definite air of foreboding about it.  Then, about halfway through, things change and we’re left with something that flits between ‘action’ and ‘eighties slasher.’ I can see why some people found this change a little jarring.  The film does try and lead you one way, only to go off on a tangent.

However, despite this, I still enjoyed it.  Mainly due to Dan Stevens.  Now, I must confess to never having watched Downton Abbey, so I had no idea who he was (in fact... I actually had to look him up online to realise he was British and not American, as his excellent accent would have you believe).  He’s a damn good hero.  Or should I say antihero?  You can’t help but root for him, despite his obvious menacing tendencies.  I defy anyone not to cheer as he takes care of some highschool bullies!

Also, within the second act is an ‘explanation’ which brings in some extra characters/threat levels.  I won’t go into details as I don’t want to spoil it for you if you don’t know what I’m talking about, but this plot angle isn’t explored as well as it could.  There are still a fair few questions left up in the air because some aspects aren’t explained as well as they could have been.

All in all, The Guest is a solid enough little thriller which might have benefited from being a bit more focused.  However, if you’re in a forgiving mood, you should be able to see through its minor flaws and enjoy it for what it is.

And, special mention to the electro soundtrack.  The Guess has received a lot of praise online from being ‘old school’ and a throwback to the eighties.  I guess that element went over my head while I was watching it, but, upon thinking about it, I sort of get it.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that