Unless of course you are writers Gemma Hurley, Jed Shepherd, and Rob Savage who have conceived of Host from across the proverbial pond. Directed by Rob Savage, Host delivers all of the scares and jolts you would expect of a typical “found footage” horror movie, yet the fat has been trimmed off to provide the most jaded horror fan a balanced and frightening 56-minute jaunt into terror.
Owing its construct to The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity before, Host hits all the notes one might expect in a horror movie: jump scares, emotional moments, violence, blood, and…ZOOM?
Capitalizing on the app that has linked the isolated masses during the COVID-19 epidemic, the team behind Host has used Zoom’s connectivity (and inherent limitations) as a means to tell this story of six friends who host a seance over the popular platform. Guided by Seylan, a purported psychic, the young girls (and guy) are treated to a fun house of horrors accidentally unlocked by one of the more skeptical Zoomers.
From the first frame, you know something is afoot, as we are slowly introduced to all of the participants. Much like Blair Witch before, the actors retain the same names as their real life counterparts. And each actor gives each character a personality and presence that makes you wonder about them and their personal lives. In short time, we realize that all are not safe, as one-by-one they are fiendishly stalked by what Seylan deduces is a “demon”.
Dotting the landscape are supporting background characters: a smothering girlfriend, a doting father, and a cranky boyfriend. Each character helps build a mythos and a question in the viewers mind: who or what is behind the scares of Host?
Although a “Zoom” movie might sound off-putting to you, the filmmakers give continuity and landscape to their film by allowing the performers the ability to tote their devices around their abodes to capture what may be an ominous supernatural presence.
Surprises abound as viewers might seize up trying to determine where to look onscreen for ghost-like apparitions…or more.
Do yourself a favor. Don’t leave Host in the Waiting Room. If you are just as jaded about Zoom as you are about horror movies, get to Shudder where it is streaming exclusively. Enjoy the veritable house(s) of horror that will sync effortlessly on your screen as Host shares its luscious, terrifying video and audio with you…
