The Guest

I can´t imagine what soldiers get to experience on different missions. On each mission, you might have to do things that you probably don´t want to, but have to, including killing another person if necessary. Each year we read in newspapers about the military problems in Iraq, and many other countries. Soldiers who finally return to their home country, and try and adjust into ordinary life must be very difficult. One of the best motion pictures that brings that subject up is First Blood with Sylverster Stallone. There are plenty of films that take on the subject of military soldiers who returns home, but First Blood was actually unique for the portrait of an Vietnam veteran, coming home to Usa, without any home to go to. Sylvester Stallone did a really good performance as John Rambo, a man with no future, who carry a past within him that no one should have experienced. Maybe we should also mention Born On The Fourth Of July, with an excellent Tom Cruise as an Vietnam veteran, trying to be respected for his duty in war. With the new release of Clint Eastwood´s Oscar nominated film American Sniper in cinemas worldwide, it seems that films with military issues are very important. I recently got to take a look at The Guest, a film that bring up the subjects about the american military, both from a soldier perspective, and also from a family perspective. What cought my interest is that this film is directed by Adam Wingard, who directed 2 short films on V/H/S and V/H/S/2. I was curious to see him do something completely different, from his previous work. The Guest is a film that only had a limited theatre release, but critics seemed to be positive. Is this a suprisingly good film from director Adam Wingard, going into a completely different genre, or should he have stayed in the horror genre that he did so well instead ?

Laura Peterson ( Sheiley Kelly ) and her husband Spencer Peterson ( Leland Orser ) struggle with their ordinary day lives, since they lost their son Caleb, to the war in Afghanistan. One day, while Laura is home alone, a man named David Collins ( Dan Stevens ) visit their home. David is a former soldier, who says he was a friend of Caleb. Not sure what to think, Laura decide to invite him in. She can see on a Picture that he does tell the truth, seeing him and her son Caleb, together with their military team. Spencer is depressed over his son´s death, so he is very pleased to have David visit, and ask him to stay longer. Laura´s other 2 kids, Anna Peterson ( Maika Monroe ) and Luke Peterson ( Brendan Meyer ) are both curious why David is staying at their home. But it turns out he seems to make a change, especially for bully victim Luke. Anna is fascinated in David, but she is not sure who he really is. Some strange events begin to happen around town, while Anna try and contact the military unit that David claim he belongs to. Something seems wrong with David´s information, and the truth is about to be revealed.

It is nice to see that once in a while, a film shows up that looks different from most releases. The Guest is without a doubt different, in the sense that the plot is a mixture of different films. This combination makes The Guest interesting, stories with something to say does not come around very often. You can tell the budget is limited, but it does not affect the quality of the film. British actor Dan Stevens, who you might have seen from The Fifth Estate and A Walk Among The Tombstones, does a great performance. He is like a strange mix of Patrick Swayze in Road House, and Schwarzenegger in Terminator, but with his own combination. When the film starts, you really have no idea why his character David is visiting this family, except for his time in the army with their dead son/brother. I wont give away any details, just to make it more interesting to see The Guest. I really like the structure of this film by director Adam Wingard, he manage to bring in many different ideas, and put them all together without losing the string. You might have seen his horror film You´re Next, that turned out to be a surprisingly good horror film. The Guest is not a horror film, i would instead call this a thriller, with a very unique style. I love the soundtrack, the synthesizer tunes feels very 80´s style, and fit right into the style of the film. The biggest strength of this film is the plot, it is not very often i feel very interested in what is about to happen, and with The Guest you really have no idea what will happen. You begin to think of what could happen, and you still have no clue of why David turned up to see this family. I am so happy to see an intelligent film that is strong enough to deliver on such a high level. Everything is not perfect, there are a few flaws, but nothing that impact the quality of the film. The Guest is a big surprise to me, i had no expectations at all, maybe because i did not even watch a trailer. I suggest you check this out, you might actually find this film quite interesting.

Rating: DDD