Just yesterday, I watched a film called The Guest. Not an appealing title, isn’t it? But I thought it was worth 100 minutes (could be that length) watching it. Now I am giving some thoughts on this movie.
Warning: this review contains spoiler. Read at your own risk.
It was never my intention of watching this movie. I knew it thanks to Kenh 14, (Vietnamese version of TMZ- you know how rubbish it is) which introduces the film “It follows”. I found the plot rather new to me. Of course, according to what I read, it run into horror movies’ cliché but the idea of a girl who was passed a supernatural course by an asshole boyfriend through sexual intercourse was somehow brilliant. That movie and The Guest is quite related to each other (same director and same actress). That’s how I knew The Guest.
From the poster, I thought the main cast was Bradley Cooper, whom I am not really fond of. Ok. I admitted taking it too personally. 2 years ago, I received an interview invitation from a start up real estate firm whose Bradley Cooper- looking-alike founder failed me miserably. Since then, I always find it uncomfortable to look at that American actor. But eventually, I chose to watch The guest after Wikipedia-ing that another actor played the main character and it was a critical acclaim work.
The film opens with a close up of a guy whose face is unseen. He was carrying a bag and running on an empty road through the dessert. The music background played along and “The Guest” logo give me 70- 80s horror movie feels, which is not a bad start for me. It came as a surprise to me that the actor, who plays the main character David Collins, is my acquaintance. I knew him via A walk through tombstones in which I got head over heels for his character. In this movie, Dan Stevens took the spotlight at the very first moment when David stood in front of Peterson family, which is made of Mr. and Mrs Peterson, their almost 21 year old daughter- Anna, and their high school boy- Luke. They lost their eldest son- Caleb- the war in Afghanistan. David Collins is such a bae. I mean every word of it. He’s super handsome, he has exceptional blue eyes, he’s polite, he’s blond and he’s masculine. It is impossible for an ordinary girl like me to resist his charm. After a few awkward moments at first, Mrs. Peterson got used to that handsome guest and more opened to him. Actually, his unexpected visit comforted her so much. He introduced him as a discharged soldier and her son’s best friend and gave her little chit chat about Caleb during his days in Afghanistan. From David, Mrs. Peterson can feel her son’s presence. How can she not love him? I think David somehow makes her stop grieving at the death of her son. That’s why David was allowed to stay at Peterson’s house for a couple of days right in Caleb’s room.
He got along well and eventually became the best friend of other members in Peterson family, especially Luke. As an introvert and silent boy, his being bullied at school is a frequent argument between mom and dad. David definitely took a certain place in his heart after few times rescuing him. David was the first one to notice the bruise on his face and the day after, offered to take him home. They followed the delinquent group that gave Luke hard time. As a skillful soldier, David kicked their asses easily. Not a really fan of action packed movies, but I found this scene a badass. Mr. Peterson told David his problem at work. He helped Mrs. Peterson with housework. He went to the party of Anna. It sounds perfectly normal, you would never think of him as a villain but the film gave you hint there was something wrong with David.
I am not going to spend half of this review telling you how awesome Dan Stevens as David is. But his charm is overloading that I could not handle. He was super hot when getting out of the bathroom, half naked in his towel and OMG. The smoking scene in the party. How can I ever describe? It was just a pleasure to my eyes. His evil stare, his stiffness in making love with Kristen, and his voice…Isn’t Steven British? I love his Kentucky accent. Signed. Sealed. Delivered. My heart is yours
I have a mixed feeling for David. He appeared as a good buy but turned out to be the psycho path used as a test subject for military health program. He had something to do with fire accident that took place years ago and left no one alive. He believed that if someone could possibly know his identity, he would kill them. So I wonder if Anna had not accidentally overheard him talking with his doctor about changing his fingerprint, would he have done any harm to her and the family? He kicked ass assholes who bullied Luke, killed Mr. Peterson’s boss and his girlfriend and got rid of Anna’s annoying boyfriend. Everything he did for the Peterson was good in a bad way. As for what he did, Luke knew it all along but agreed to keep silent, only because “they are friends”. David was out of control at the end-ish of the film. He killed Mom and Dad, blew up the restaurant where Anna worked with grenades (“Because I love you” was played, LOL, I love that song), shot Major Craver and chased the two kids. But I think he had special feeling for Luke. When the kid stabbed him to death repeatedly, he told him that he did the right thing, so should not blame himself and gave him the thumb up.
I actually become more into David when finding out he is a psycho path. I have watched some films whose main characters are psychopaths, e.g.: We need to talk about Kevin, and Nightcrawler, etc. These people are capable of manipulating others, so, they take control in every action. I like conversations between David and the principal, and David and the druggie. Very interesting. Steven did a great job of showing David’s irresistible charm while delivering his evil side, I gave him an A+ for his performance. Other performances were good as well. Anna was proved to be a kick-ass girl not the type of Cinderella who waited for her prince to rescue like Korean drama (actually, that type in American film is hard to find). Luke is cute too.
The music background contributed much to the success of the film besides perfect casting (including Anna, Luke, and David). The techno sound played along with chasing scene made it more intense. I like it. The ending fell a bit short of my expectation, but that was OK.
Overall, I got some entertaining time with The Guest.
It may take me quite a long time to forget this smile
