Host (2020) Movie Drinking Game
Take a Drink: for every glitch
Take a Drink: whenever a character does
Take a Drink: when a candle is lit
Take a Drink: every time someone joins or leaves the call
Take a Drink: any time the lockdown is mentioned
Do a Shot: as needed, for each scare
By: BabyRuth (A Toast) –
Now five months and counting into the COVID-19 pandemic, how burned out are we on Zoom meetings? The technical issues. The awkward silences. That one annoying person always trying to be funny by changing backgrounds (that would be me). But this is, unfortunately, for who knows how long, the new normal.
Such is the case for six friends who meet up for weekly Zoom hangouts. Each week one is selected as the host and tasked with choosing the group’s activity. This week it is Hayley’s (Haley Bishop) turn. Sick of the same old board games, she decides to spice things up by inviting a medium onto the call to hold an online séance. What could possibly go wrong?
This is the synopsis of 2020’s Host, filmed and edited entirely remotely during the coronavirus lockdown. The idea came to director Rob Savage after he pranked his friends over the platform with a “ghost” and uploaded the video of their spooked reactions. The video sparked an idea to make a feature-length film. When Savage asked friend and co-writer/producer Jed Shepherd for his ideas on expanding the idea, Jed texted him two words: “ZOOM SÉANCE.” Less than four months later, we have Host, exclusively streaming on Shudder, currently holding an impressive 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and already being referred to as one of the best horror films of the year.
A Toast
With limited budget, resources, and time (the film clocks in at a brief 57 minutes- which is just about the limit of a free Zoom call, keeping with the realism) Savage, along with Shepherd, co-writer Gemma Hurley, and the small cast created one hell of a terrifying scare-fest.
Found footage and computer screen-set horror is nothing new, but Host feels fresh in its concept and execution. The viewer never leaves the confines of the real-time Zoom interface and because of that, is immersed into the story and feels like part of the action, albeit an entirely helpless part. (It’s here where I would recommend watching Host on a laptop – probably the only film I could think of where that would be the preferred viewing option as opposed to a big screen. Make sure to turn off your lights and light a single candle as well!)
While many horror films are fantastical and provide an escape, Host feels too real for comfort. You really are watching six friends chat over an actual Zoom call (the actors are real-life friends, which accounts for, at least in part, their terrific and easy chemistry). They reference the lockdown, which of course, is all too real. And the strange incidents that begin to occur? Well, it could happen! (Who among us doesn’t have a story of witnessing something otherworldly at least once in their lives? Remind me to tell you about The Doll Lady I encountered in an arcade bathroom when I was 17.)
Even with the short running time, the film is well-paced and nothing feels rushed. Things start off slowly and lighthearted with introductions to the characters as they settle in for some chatter and a drink or three. Once the medium Seylan (Seylan Baxter) is brought in and the séance gets underway, the tension begins to build. Savage plays with the viewer’s growing dread with a few jump scares, fake outs, and true WTF moments that are always one step ahead of what we’re anticipating, leading to a knockout climax that may have some people second-thinking their next video call. The effects are impressive on their own, but even more so given the circumstances under which the film was created.
With such a unique (and obstacle-ridden) filming process, the cast was responsible for not only contributing convincing performances, but for setting up their own filming equipment, lighting, practical effects, and makeup/prosthetic application. The main cast: Haley Bishop, Jemma Moore, Emma Louise Webb, Radina Drandova, Caroline Ward, and Edward Linard all step up and individually and collectively deliver on every aspect.
For a Zoom-based film, you wouldn’t expect there to be much to mention about shot composition, but whether intentional or not, there are some striking images. My favorite is a moment late in the film that involves the character Emma. Only her eye is visible, as she is hiding under a blanket in fear while the distant thuds in her home get louder and louder. It’s an amazing visual that recalls the iconic one in The Blair Witch Project. (You know which one) There are several others, but in the interest of keeping this spoiler-free, I’ll let you discover those for yourselves.
Because the screen is split into multiple frames, the viewer needs to pay close attention to everything going on in each one, which results in a heightened state of awareness, adding to the suspense. Of course, it’s impossible to catch everything the first time, so repeat viewings are encouraged and rewarded with foreshadowed clues as well as easter egg homages to films that served as inspiration for the horror buffs.
Finally, it needs to be mentioned that Host also works as both a time capsule and allegory for 2020. The first is obvious; this will forever be known as the definitive quarantine horror movie. But it works on a deeper level, in that each character reacts to the unseen presence in a different way. Some take it seriously, while others laugh it off or downplay the threat. But it’s there and one way or another it eventually affects everyone.
And on that downer note,
Verdict
A toast for Host!
Brilliant in its simplicity and more than effective with its spooks, Host goes to show that all you need is a great idea and talented people to make something incredible.
