Take an old-school-style slasher picture and cross it with an Alfred Hitchcock thriller. Then mix in Jason Bourne and “The Terminator.” And, finally, throw in a little bit of Lifetime family drama, and you’ve got Adam Wingard’s giddy, bloody, exciting genre concoction known as “The Guest.”
It’s a self-aware B-movie, for sure, but unlike Robert Rodriguez’s recent self-aware B-movie “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For,” “The Guest” is highly inventive and always keeps you on your feet.
Wingard and writer Simon Barrett made a splash last year with their film “You’re Next,” another self-aware B-movie focusing primarily on the horror genre. While it certainly provided a couple good thrills and cheeky moments, it was a movie that thought it was being smarter than it actually was. It may have contained plenty of gore, but it lacked in twists and innovation. The same can’t be said for “The Guest.”
It begins on a calm but ominous note: David (Dan Stevens), a recently discharged soldier, goes to the house of Laura Peterson (Sheila Kelley), saying that he knew her son, Caleb, who was killed in action, and that before he died, he told David to check on his family. Still vulnerable and mourning the death of her son, Laura welcomes David into her home almost impulsively. Just then, in blood-red, the film’s title flashes on screen, accompanied by horror movie bass. Five minutes in, Wingard suggests that something sinister is lurking beneath this seemingly mundane situation.
But after that brief interlude, it’s back to the mundane family drama. We’re introduced to the rest of the Peterson family: the father, Spencer (Leland Orser); daughter Anna (Maika Monroe); and the youngest son, Luke (Brendan Meyer).
Within a few days, David becomes a welcomed member of the family, fulfilling multiple roles that were violently taken away with Caleb’s passing.
However, strange incidents begin to happen — accidental deaths, mysterious phone calls, etc. — and soon, Anna begins to wonder if David is who he really says he is.
“The Guest” continually changes shapes and genres, and yet, it does it in a coherent, organic way.
“The Guest” is also violent. Wingard increases the action and violence gradually so as not to fatigue us early on. By the end, the movie reaches extreme levels of violence, but it feels appropriate and deserved because we haven’t been bombarded with it constantly.
“The Guest” is also funny. Wingard and Barrett know not to take this material completely seriously, but at the same time, the movie isn’t full-on comedy. Very few directors can walk that narrow tightrope between drama and humor —Quentin Tarantino is one who comes to mind — and with only having a few other films to his name, Wingard achieves the balance near-perfectly. Like Tarantino, Wingard knows when to make violence cartoony and amusing.
Even with all of this giddy violence and twists and turns, Wingard and Barrett keep the focus of the movie on the characters. Stevens — known mainly from “Downton Abbey” — is the best part about “The Guest.” His David is charming, understanding, mysterious, trustworthy and, of course, not trustworthy. The character changes as the movie does, and David’s motivation often remains unclear. Yet, as the movie goes on, he still remains somewhat likable. David never turns into a one-note, despicable, genre-movie antagonist.
“The Guest” can be rough around the edges at times; some of the supporting performances aren’t that great. It’s not a very profound movie or full of hidden meanings, but it’s one of the few purely entertaining great movies of the year so far.
It has the element of surprise, and Wingard keeps the action going at a steady pace. Steve Moore’s synthesizer score pulses and vibrates along as Wingard ratchets up the tension and action. This is simply an easy movie to watch and enjoy again and again.