The Guest-2014

Director Adam Wingard

Starring Dan Stevens, Maika Monroe

Scott’s Review #220

Reviewed February 7, 2015

Grade: C-

The Guest is a 2014 thriller that can perhaps be classified under the adage “it’s so bad that it’s good,” though as I pondered writing this review, that might be a bit of a stretch.

As poor as the film is, I still enjoyed something about it.

The premise is simple. A Midwestern family, the Petersons, is suddenly visited by a veteran soldier named David, who claims to be a friend of the parents’ deceased son, Caleb.

David easily insinuates himself into their lives, and the Petersons invite him to stay a few days to rehash details about Caleb.

The family is middle-class yet struggling financially, and it consists of a mother and father, a college-aged daughter named Anna, an actress eerily resembling a young Gwen Stefani, and a bullied, timid, high school-aged son named Luke.

From the get-go, something feels off about David, but his motives remain unclear to the audience.

The film has plenty of issues.

For starters, the acting is rather poor. The most notable actors are Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey), Sheila Kelley (L.A. Law), and a collection of unknowns.

Stevens and Kelley give better performances, and I found Stevens particularly believable in a role opposite his Downton Abbey alter ego.

The rest of the cast is wooden and uncompelling.

The weakest parts of The Guest are the inane plot points and the 1980s-style soundtrack. Were the filmmakers going for a retro throwback? The film is set in present times, so this aspect remains a mystery.

The story starts interestingly. Is it a Fatal Attraction (1987) type of film? What is David’s motive? What was his relationship with the deceased Caleb? Does he intend to help or harm the family?

The reveal towards the end of the film is implausible, ridiculous, and disappointing. Without giving too much away, the government plays a major role in the film, but it does little to provoke sympathy for any of the characters, only eliciting more confusion.

The attempted (and botched) love story between David and Anna does not work. They have little chemistry, and the rooting value is not there, especially as he picks up her drunken best friend at a party.

Is the audience supposed to root for David and Anna, or is it merely a weak sub-plot to the thrill aspect of the film? I suspect the latter.

Despite all these negatives, I didn’t despise the film as it trucked along; rather, I found it more of a mess than anything else.

It is not a good film, but there is something slightly appealing about it. Some of the death scenes are well done, and the budding friendship between David and the bullied son is rather sweet.

The son is enamored with the strong, masculine David, and David, in turn, serves as a protector, humiliating the bullies who gave the kid a black eye.

The film doesn’t delve into a sexual angle, but it is a bond that is cheerful to see. It has a nice, warm element.

Another impressive point of The Guest is that it ends with a surprise that leaves room for a sequel. However, because the film didn’t achieve success, I doubt a sequel will ever see the light of day.

A poorly written, weakly acted film, The Guest (2014) has moments of interest but fails miserably as a viewing experience.

By the end, I still had no idea what the main character was motivated by, which is a huge problem.

Confusing and convoluted are the adjectives best to describe this film.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best Editing