Shudder
These days, it is rare that a horror movie can scare the crap out of you, but that is what
Host does to you. The film was shot completely in quarantine during the last three months for Shudder, and shudder is what you are going to do when you watch it.
Haley Bishop invites her friends Radina Drandova, Edward Linard, Jemma Moore, Caroline Ward, and Emma Louise Webb to a Zoom séance. She has done them before in person and thinks this one will be no different. They quickly find out, she is very wrong.
When one of the girls does something she is not supposed to do, something decides to get revenge on them one by one. There is nothing to they can do to help each other out, so they just have to watch as the mysterious spirit makes their group smaller and smaller. Just like them, all we can do is watch them in horror as they watch each other the same way.
Award-winning filmmaker Rob Savage, Dawn of the Deaf, created a short film when the international lockdown started. Somehow, Shudder’s General Manager Craig Engler saw it and asked him if he could create a full-length feature like it. Savage said yes, and in less than three months, he wrote the screenplay with Gemma Hurley and Jed Shepherd, directed, shot, and edited the movie. All while never being in the same room with any of the actors.
The actors not only acted, but they also shot their scenes and created their own special effects. It is the simplicity of their effects that make this film even more terrifying. One of the girls watches eveything go down from under the covers, and I can tell you will be doing the same.
I am not a fan of modern-day horror or found footage movies because they are all CGIed to hell. This movie is the first one, in a really long time, that made me put down my phone and pay attention to what was going on on the screen. Even Hamilton couldn’t do that.
I am also glad I watched it during the day. Therefore, you might want to keep the lights on after you press play. You will also want to revoke access to any apps that want to use video. You will never do another video chat after this. Even if your life depended on it, and that includes Teladoc, where your life literally depends on that.
The best part about Host is that it is less than an hour long. That means there is very little downtime, and the frights happen very quickly. Because it is so short, you are going to want to watch it again and again to catch all of the little scares. Don’t worry; there are plenty of big ones too and there is suspense there too.
I never heard of Rob Savage before Host, but this guy has a huge future ahead of him. How many directors can do what he did in such a short amount of time, with a smaller budget, and make it look like he had a year to make it with unlimited funds? I can’t wait to see what he does next. Maybe Shudder will give him an extra month for his next flick.
On that note, if you do not have Shudder, you can test it out for a week for free to see if you want it. Let me tell you; you will want it. Host is not the only horrifying thing they have on there. I grew up on horror since I was a toddler, and I can never get enough of Shudder or as I like to say Shudder and Shrill.
