Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Spook Out! Day 13 ~ Host (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes Says...
"Six friends accidentally invite the attention of a demonic presence during an online séance and begin noticing strange occurrences in their homes."

I Say...
That's a tight summary of a lithe little flick. I approve it 100%.

Horror Type...
Found Footage, Supernatural

Main Players...
Haley Bishop as Haley (Hopeless Hostess)
Jemma Moore as Jemma (Intrepid Idiot)
Seylan Baxter as Seylan (Unprofessional Medium!)

I liked...
  • how this takes place in the real Covid-19 present, and the friends are all Zooming weekly to stay in touch, since they're all locked-down
  • their excitement at seeing one another (virtually), and how that contrasts with the eerie vibes building around them
  • that little by little my peace was subtly disturbed (like, seeing some of the gals having the doors of the rooms they were in wide open--it made me anxiously anticipate seeing something pass by that oughtn't to do so)
  • the moments of humor revolving around the Medium
  • the irony of them all, including the Medium, encouraging one another not to be afraid, as though they had any control over anything about to happen
  • how, when shit got real, it REALLY GOT REAL

The Meh...
It did have some of the flaws that typically keep me from watching found-footage movies--shaky camera work that doesn't always give you a clear view, or understanding, of wtf's going on. Ugh, so annoying! But it did a lot better than some other such flicks.

Would I recommend it...?
ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY--to horror fans. This lean little number (just under an hour long!) scared the stuffin out of me. With tons of foreboding, multiple jump scares, and an uncompromising body count, Host is the stuff of horror fans' bad dreams (hardcore horror fans probs won't be quite as wigged out as I was, but I had chills bubble up on my arms several times, and that last jump scare? Hooo, boy!). Light-horror fans may wish to opt for something else--at the very least, don't watch this just before bedtime (I was going to suggest, "Don't watch if you live alone," but having others around didn't help some of the characters in the movie, so...).

Miscellany...
This bad boy was made during Covid-19 quarantine, directed/filmed remotely, and the actors had to learn how to do their own practical effects and stunts--and it was completed in three months! (I mean, dang!) These folks better be winning ALL THE AWARDS!!!

Ratings...
My Grade: A+
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: Tomatometer=100%, Audience Score=77%

Details, Schmeetails...




This concludes Day 13 of


Thanks for reading and come back tomorrow...

IF YOU DARE


2 comments:

  1. Sounds interesting but not for me. It calls to mind Blair Witch from your description, except virtual. An online seance?

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    Replies
    1. It's an interesting idea. I didn't see Blair Witch until within the past two or three years, can't say it impressed me much. Host kept the scares coming, though. Really well done, and shows the world (studio execs) that taking a risk on new/unknown voices is TOTALLY WORTH IT! *ahem* 😊

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