'Guest' a thrilling nod to 1980s horror schlock
After proving they could knock off a conventional home-invasion thriller in "You're Next," director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett go totally crazy with "The Guest," a Frankenstein's stew of horror, suspense, military and action genres seasoned with nervous black humor, synthesized 1980s vibes and tough female empowerment.
Buffed and beefed-up "Downton Abbey" actor Dan Stevens instantly steps into the A-minus casting arena for his relatively complex, layered performance as a mysterious drifter who claims to be an ex-soldier named David.
When David comes upon the Peterson family. he sees a bad case of nuclear frission.
The family's eldest son Caleb has been killed in Iraq. Mom (Sheila Kelley) mopes around the house in a fog of loss and inertia. Ineffectual Dad (Leland Orser) comes home and instantly retreats after issuing his daily manta of "I need a drink!"
Shy schlubby son Luke (Brendan Meyer) makes easy prey for the high school bullies. Older blonde hottie daughter Anna (Maika Monroe) works at a local diner and serves up rebel attitude.
David tells the family that he served with Caleb, and that Caleb told him to find the Petersons and tell them he loves them all.
Mom goes gooey. Dad goes ennui. Anna goes phooey!
Everyone loves David, except Anna, the only one with the smarts to actually check on David's story by contacting Caleb's army unit.
By this time, we already know that David is a walking hand grenade with the pin pulled, mainly because Stevens takes such great joy showing us the sociopathic currents roiling beneath David's tight and chiseled all-American exterior.
This "mysterious stranger with a deadly agenda" plot springboards into a madcap mix of crazy Vietnam War vet dramas, 1980s mad slasher thrillers (with a "Halloween"-like score), and an homage to Bruce Lee's last movie, "Enter the Dragon" with its climatic hall-of-mirrors smackdown.
"The Guest" is also a surprisingly funny movie that provokes guilty, involuntary chuckles inspired by actions not usually considered comic material, like breaking bones.
Barrett, who cites "The Stepfather" as an inspiration for this film, plays with the double-edged sword of violence. We admire David when he helps Luke deal with bullies. Not so much when David turns against the Petersons.
We never know the details of David's participation in an experiment that apparently created him as a perfect killing machine. (Oh, so that's why the army is chasing him!)
If you can overlook this, plus a pathetic, desperate ending unworthy of the rest of the movie, a humorous, messy, genre-twisting thriller awaits.
Be my guest.
“The Guest”
. . .
Starring: Dan Stevens, Lance Reddick, Maika Monroe, Brendan Meyer, Sheila Kelley, Leland Orser
Directed by: Adam Wingard
Other: A Picturehouse Films release. Rated R for drug use, language, sexual situations, violence. 97 minutes