Director: Rob Savage
Writer: Gemma Hurley, Rob Savage, Jed Shepherd (Screenplay)
Starring: Haley Bishop, Jemma Moore, Emma Louise Webb, Radina Drandova, Caroline Ward, Alan Emrys, Patrick Ward, Edward Linard
Plot: Six friends hire a medium to hold a seance via Zoom during lockdown, but they get far more than they bargained for as things quickly go wrong.
Tagline – Someone new has joined the meeting
Runtime: 57 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Host starts as friends Haley (Bishop), Jemma (Moore), Emma (Webb), Radina (Drandova) and Caroline (Ward) agree to do an online Zoom séance with a medium. As the early part of the séance starts, the friends start experience weird noises in their own homes, which soon take a twist to the much darker side as an evil spirit has been released to hunt them down within their own homes.
Thoughts on Host
Thoughts – Host uses the Lockdown environment the world found itself in during 2020 to bring us a horror movie within the webcam conversations friends around the world used. The story doesn’t give us enough motivation behind why the friends decided to do the séance in the first place, because from my own experiences on video calls, séance wouldn’t be on any of our to do lists. When it comes to the unusual events the friends go through, it is the typical noises around the homes, with the idea that while in a lockdown, you will find yourself having less chance to just escape. The performances are strong in the film, with the natural friendship coming through strong, with certain moments showing the growing tensions within the friendship group. The final 20 minutes of this film is filled with tension and suspense, which will have you glued to the edge of your seat.
Final Thoughts – Host is an edge of your seat, hiding behind the pillow type of movie.