User Reviews

It's a bold statement but I stand by it. This movie had everything I wanted and a hell of a lot more. The plot in a nutshell is that a guy named David (Dan Stevens) goes to the house of a soldier who was KIA and claims to have known him personally, so the family invites him to stay. Then things start happening, secrets come out, and sh*t goes down. Simple premise, and if it sounds familiar it's probably because it's been done many times, but never quite with as much finesse as The Guest.

The writer and director are the same team that brought us You're Next and a few segments from V/H/S and V/H/S/2. Personally I loved You're Next - it was a straight up horror comedy with little to no surprises. Here, the duo hone their strengths into their magnum opus so to speak. The Guest is an action thriller, but there are a lot more elements at work. It's dramatic, it's funny, it's intense, and it gets pretty frightening at times. The scope seems very wide but it all flows together without a hitch, and each emotional reaction keeps your eyes glued to the screen waiting for what happens next.

The Guest is held together by its lead, Dan Stevens. I haven't seen him in anything before this but he was flawless in this role as an enigmatic, seemingly charming family friend. David is immensely likable, even when questionable things start happening you still want to root for the guy. He just has a badass aura around him. Dan Stevens plays him with such conviction that you can't see through him and you have no idea what is going on in his head, but you know that there's more to him than meets the eye.

When I say sh*t goes down in this movie, I mean it. Sh*t. Goes. Down. I won't spoil anything but The Guest has one of the most stylish, suspenseful, colorful, and downright invigorating third acts in a movie I've seen in a while. It's f*cking magnificent. Some people are split on this opinion but honestly, I thought it was an absolute blast. It takes place in a Halloween fun house; as soon as it began I turned into a giddy schoolgirl. Yeah, it's just that much fun. The first two acts are impeccable as well, building up the tension and suspense to a level of tangibility that you can cut with a knife.

The characters surrounding David are all great as well. They're your typical family, and although it may seem like they're just caricatures, they are completely convincing in their roles largely due to the realistic dialogue. Everything progresses believably and exactly how you'd want it to, and the predictability is a strength in this case because it gives the filmmakers a chance to make the simple premise as shiny and creative as possible. I was not bored for a minute of this movie. The soundtrack is phenomenal too - it has an '80s thriller vibe and a lot of dark electronic grooves similar to those in You're Next but even better.

The Guest is an action-thriller buff's wet dream, and it even throws in some horror for good measure. It really is one of the most underrated movies of 2014 and an experience that no thriller fan should miss out on.

I've never watched Downton Abbey, but I'm guessing that Dan Stevens deliberately sought out very different roles after leaving the show. The Guest is the perfect advert for his abilities. He's convincing as the mysterious but charming visitor and equally capable in moments of action, suspense or humour. I hope the right roles come along for him as he's entertaining to watch and has got everything required to become a major star.

The plot unfolds in a fashion that renders a summary both unnecessary and unwanted if you're planning to see this, but after the initial set-up it progresses at a decent pace and with escalating tension.

A special mention is required for the soundtrack. The electronic score is one of the film's major strengths and is perfectly judged.

An entertaining and self-aware mix of action, suspense and dark humour, the Guest has a retro feel without being old fashioned (a quality that is encapsulated by the score), and features decent performances.

Wow! What a gem of a movie. The Guest tells a tale of a mysterious and initially benign-appearing ex-military man who claims to have served with the recently deceased son of the Peterson family. Still grieving their loss, they welcome him with open arms. All is not as it seems however and slowly, despite his psychopathic charm, young Anna Peterson suspects that something is amiss.

What follows is a slick and stylish thriller with fluid action scenes that simmers at first before leading us to an explosive finale. The acting is solid throughout, especially from the two leads Dan Stevens and Maika Monroe who share a nice chemistry. The story, whilst simplistic and sometimes cheesy, is tight and the terse dialogue fits well. Character motivations are deliberately left vague and the film remains focused on the fact it is a thriller and doesn't overburden us with ridiculous a back-story; what back-story there is merely serves as a plot device to set-up the finale. And what a finale! Without giving spoilers, it is one of the most stylish final movie set-pieces I've seen in a long time, interjected with just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek quips. Just shows what can be done with the right set, some nerves and a smoke machine; who needs CGI!

A special mention must be given to the excellent soundtrack which really enhances the tension in some of the key scenes. At times I swore the bass beats were synced with my heart-rate!

Highly enjoyable and highly recommended!

The only thing surprising in The Guest is just how straight forward it is in its simple plotting. Everything unfolds in predictable fashion, but this B material is a fantastic showcase of wicked humor and misanthropic violence. Dan Stevens is in excellent form here, as a mysterious soldier who shows up unannounced at a family's home of a fallen soldier he served with. He's all smiles and very polite, but people with a usually negative connection with this family start meeting grisly ends. Like in his previous film You're Next, Adam Wingard approaches plotting you've seen a million times and wittily turns it on its ear without ever being too self aware. It's a shame Picturehouse who acquired the US rights dumped the film in a handful of theaters without trying to capitalize on the strong reviews and never bothered to expand it theatrically. The Guest is a quick fun time that knows exactly what it is and delivers without overstaying its welcome.

THE GUEST is a fun, if derivative, little movie from Adam Wingard, the guy who also brought us the familiar-yet-entertaining YOU'RE NEXT. It's a belated addition to that whole psycho-thriller sub-genre of the 1990s in which ordinary families were menaced by mysterious forces, and it achieves plenty on what is clearly a tight budget.

There are shades of THE TERMINATOR and the BOURNE trilogy here and it has to be said that the story is simplistic and straightforward. The denouement will surprise nobody, for example. However, like DRIVE before it, THE GUEST is all about the execution. It looks cool, it looks stylish, and it sounds cool too thanks to that thumping soundtrack. Dan Stevens is excellent as the suave and sophisticated guy who turns up to make a few waves, and Maika Monroe shows some of the promise that she displayed in IT FOLLOWS. Plus we get Lance Reddick, being exceptionally good again after his turn in JOHN WICK.

In fact, THE GUEST has quite a lot in common with IT FOLLOWS, especially the horror-style unfolding of the plot. These films share likable young cast members and a fresh feel despite the familiarities of the situations in which the characters find themselves. Certainly nothing about THE GUEST is original, yet it's thoroughly entertaining at the same time. And that's all I need from a movie.

It feels almost inaccurate to refer to this movie as The Guest when in reality it was entirely carried by a wonderful performance by Dan Stevens. I enjoyed it thoroughly, which isn't at all to say it's what I would normally call a good movie. The movie is highly campy, reminiscent of '80s-'90s action movies / thrillers, and Dan Stevens brings in an excellent all around tongue in cheek tough 80's anti-hero performance.

Stevens' acting is well matched by strong action that is to the point and not drawn out, as well as superbly chosen music, particularly in the climactic scenes.

For any gamers out there, if you enjoyed Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon for the nostalgia and humor, you'll likely love this movie as much as I did.

The acting is great, the soundtrack fantastic and the atmosphere the movie creates sucks you in from the very beginning. The movie keeps you guessing throughout at least for the first hour or so. You KNOW something is off but you have no idea what exactly. When I watched it my theory of what was going on changed every 10 minutes :D As the last reviewer stated the first hour is definitely the best part. Unfortunately towards the end the writers kind of dropped the ball. The ending is somewhat unsatisfactorily predictable and the story can only go the way it goes because of absolutely ridiculous mistakes made by some of the characters. I don't know why most movies foam in the endings but I guess in this case it is something that I'm very willing to endure for the fun I had during the first 2/3 of the film.

The acting is awesome for the most part. Dan Stevens does a great job keeping you on the edge the whole time which is utterly entertaining. The writing and dialogue are great except as mentioned above for the somewhat disappointing ending. But all in all this movie stuck with me and though it has been a couple of days since I watched it I still "feel" the atmosphere it created (to a great extend due to its unconventional soundtrack, which I eventually bought although it is generally not my kind of music at all). This is a very good movie and I am a little surprised that I basically had to stumble over it by accident and it hasn't gotten more publicity. If the ending had been a little different it could have been fantastic, none the less this way it is still great.

I went in to the cinema with no expectations with this movie. I watched the trailer and assumed it will be some average movie but I was totally mistaken. The film is very fast paced with surprisingly some humor throughout. There was a lot of gruesome fight scenes (I personally jump watching violent scenes) but I get the reasons why they were there. Dan Stevens was a complete shocker with his performance. If you remember him from Downtown Abbey, his performance here is amazing! He portrays a brilliant character and he does an amazing American accent. All the actors were perfectly cast for this movie. I loved Maika Monroe, she reminded me a lot of Brittany Murphy and Gwen Stefani. The ending was totally not expected and I loved every bit. The music played reminded me a bit of Drive soundtrack but worked brilliant with this movie. I truly recommend the movie!!

I am mystified by the high score for this movie. It starts off well enough when David shows up at the door of a suburban home and tells mommie dearest that he has just walked from the bus station and is delivering a promise to the family that their son loved them all very much, and Dave is delivering that message from the last moments of his life during combat in the Middle East. Of course, David happened to be his best friend in the military. Mom invites the stranger to stay at the house with her and hubby and teen son and hot blonde daughter. Strange and bad things happen to many people; some with severe violence. The first hour is silly but entertaining, nonetheless. The problem is the last twenty minutes or so where The Guest turns into an episode of the A Team. The acting is TV movie level and the ending pretty much ruins the whole thing.

An old idea nicely redone with top notch writing and direction.

This is a breakout role for Dan Stevens who manages to commit horrible acts while at the same time being pleasant courteous and generally the kind of guy you'd be happy to have as your friend.

In fact, this is one of those rare movies where the viewer has more fun if you root for the bad guy (so to speak) right from the opening scene.

Hard to find fault with. Even the action scenes are done with the sort of precision you would expect from a martial arts movie.

For perfectionists only -- at 1:17 in the movie, there is an outrageous plot hole. While everyone, including the killer, is going to extremes to keep secret the government project that started this mess, a secret government agent agent suddenly spills the beans to a young girl for no reason at all other than to provide backstory.

Overlook that, and this is a fun flick.

So a guy who claims to know your dead son turns up at your house one day. He seems nice and looks like that bloke off of Downton so you let him stay for a while... That is pretty much all I knew about this film before I went to see it. What follows is an enjoyable thriller with laughs aplenty and an excellent central performance from Dan Stevens (more on that later).

The plot, at the end of the day, is fairly nonsensical and there are some troubling loose ends that I found a little unsatisfactory. I can't say that any of the story is particularly surprising or original but what does that matter when everyone making it and everyone in the audience seems to be having so much fun? The cinema I was in was probably around half full and while there was nobody in full-on hysterical laughter, there was a satisfactory amount of appreciative chuckling (me included).

I feel that the majority of my enjoyment of this film should really be credited to Dan Stevens in the main role. His character is charming, pleasant and helpful and yet strangely sinister and unsettling from the outset and he plays it absolutely perfectly. You can't help but like him even though you're not sure that you should. Apart from a smallish role in "The Fifth Estate", I am only familiar with Stevens from Downton Abbey and his role in this couldn't have been more different from both of these. I look forward to seeing how his career progresses but this was an excellent example of his versatility as an actor.

Overall a good Saturday night out at the cinema but I can't imagine it is the kind of classic film I would watch again and again.

Creepy stranger premise has been used in horror or mystery to varied effect, the latest Jennifer Lopez's flick is an example of how not to welcome this premise. Luckily, The Guest has the luxury of having suave lead actor and good atmosphere for a thriller. Some of the kinks are predictable, but the dark humor as well as bizarre revelations offer much needed novelty to the movie.

David (Dan Stevens) arrives at the Petersons resident, claiming that he was a friend of their fallen son. He's well-mannered and seems trustworthy, thus the family welcomes him openly. Upon his stay, strange accidents begin to happen, and suspicion arises with the casualties. The most important hook is Dan Stevens' portrayal of David. He looks like a rugged debonair, this is not average smooth, this is Ryan Gosling's level of smoothness.

Stevens delivers a wide variety of emotions, he can be either friendly or deadly. Backed by good cast, such as Maika Monroe as the Anna Peterson and Lance Reddick as Mayor Carver, the movie has a solid degree on acting performance. The exchange of banter is enjoyable, often resulting in manipulation or downright violence for David's benefit. It elevates the human drama between him, the Peterson family and whoever unlucky enough to be in their immediately vicinity.

Mystery of David's real identity is crafted slowly and it's compelling enough to pique interest without revealing too much. The film also has a touch of humor, albeit slightly crude. Strangely, in the third act it changes tone drastically for the climax. This shift is a bit odd considering it plays the thriller aspect with steady pace for the majority of early parts, although this explosive tone does have the merit of being entertaining.

There are short bursts of Hollywood style carnage, but they are modest, not all out gunblazing from the start like Bourne or the recent John Wick. Action sequences are well choreographed, it has both devastating and ridiculous impact.. Good practical effect for the blood and explosion as well as its highly unorthodox soundtracks make the faster pace scenes more satisfying.

Having good mesh of action, mystery and comedy, The Guest is enigmatically fascinating.

A young soldier called Dave turns up at the home of the Peterson family whose son has recently been killed in action overseas . Happy to see their late son's friend they invite Dave to stay longer and Dave quickly ingratiates himself in to the family's affection . But is Dave who he says he is and if not what is his agenda ?

!!!! SUGGESTIVE SPOILERS !!!!!

A familiar story , so much so that before seeing it I had it instantly nailed as a rip off from an episode of Brian Clemens THRILLER from the mid 1970s which had the exact same premise . Premise isn't the same as plot however and despite hitting the occasional plot turn with its bedfellows THE GUEST does have an idiosyncratic feel of its own

It's something of a film of two halves . The first half sets up Dave to both the Peterson family and the audience and right away Dave comes across a very likable guy especially when he sorts out some school bullies on behalf of young Luke and much of his likability is down to the way he's played by Dan Stevens and it wasn't until after seeing the film I found out that Stevens is a Brit .Keep an eye on the name Dan Stevens because you might just be hearing a lot more from him in the future . In fact Dave is so likable I did find myself in agreement with Luke that it doesn't really matter who Dave is or what he's done in the past because anyone who can maim a few school bullies can't be all bad

But THE GUEST has to follow a formula which means Dave has to be a bad man and a bad man is indeed what he is so when Anna Peterson contacts the military and Lance Reddick informs every spook in a fifty mile radius to shoot Dave on sight this gives a clue as to how bad he might be . Actually at this point the film might just be making a detour in to the science fiction genre but to be fair it's not as jarring or as leftfield as it could have been .From the outset Dave surprises people around him . He can run from the bus station to the Peterson house surprising Mrs Peterson , he can consume massive amounts of alcohol without getting drunk etc etc which suggests superhuman abilities along with the suggestion he's not human at all which means despite all the familiarity of the story and its flaws ( The ending is a bit over the top ) THE GUEST is a more intriguing film than you might have expected it to be

If you're into these kind of movies, it's one of the best of it's kind in years. Are some of the premise a bit outrageous and unrealistic? Of course, but it never hurts the movie. There's really no unlikeable characters, the few that are are dealt with accordingly. Even the protagonist is likeable and he does some really brutal stuff. My rating did go from a 9 to 7.5 because of the last 1/3 of the movie, which was definitely the weakest part.

I wish he was more careful when made that phone call so Anna didn't get suspicious. His face is just perfect. His beautiful face doesn't allow me to rate anything below 7.

There's nothing better than when a writer and director team up that have chemistry in abundance. That is clearly the case between director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett at the moment. 2011's 'You're Next', 2012's 'V/H/S' and its 2013 sequel 'V/H/S 2' (only segments in the latter two) have all been nothing short of brilliant and now 'The Guest' is of the same quality (although a rather different sort of film). I'm delighted to see they have been busy boys and actually have some other work released in the last few years that I can now check out as well.

'The Guest' is certainly more of a thriller compared to their other previously mentioned works which would all have to be classified as horror. It's not short on violence whatsoever though, something these two seem to have no quarries about depicting and which I applaud them for. Dan Stevens, who I would never have guessed was British, is absolutely brilliant in the lead role. His perfect balance of charm and malice make for captivating viewing. He's another I'm very keen to see some previous/future work from.

The final third of the film is very different to the first two but still works its own way. Wingard seems to have a very unique style to his work which is incredibly refreshing. For some reason the opening title's colour, font and music just really worked well to set the tone for the film. It seems the two filmmakers are prolifically hard workers which is fantastic news because if they can keep churning them out this fast and at this high quality audiences are in for a real treat in the future.

The Guest is a film brought to you by Adem Wingard and Simon Barrett, the director and writer of You're Next and some of the segments of the anthology series V/H/S. Because I haven't seen one of these movies i had no clue what to expect.

In this movie a "guest" shows up on the doorstep of a family who lost their son during a war. Because our guest fought with him on the battlefield he is invited to stay with the family for a while. And you might guess it, a lot of weird stuff starts to happen. It's a simple premise and one of my worst plot synopsis' i've written so far but i feel that it wouldn't be right to spoil too much of the story.

I can honestly say that The Guest was one of the biggest surprises of 2014. I saw this movie without even having a clue and it was widely entertaining for a bunch of reasons.

The aspect that differentiates The Guest from similar attempts is its soundtrack and how the filmmakers gave the soundtrack an importance equal to the main characters. It has that gritty 80s feel all over it that sets the tone for this movie from beginning to end.

Dan Stevens as "the guest" is fantastic and this role really shows off his range as an actor. He infiltrates this family in every single way and the filmmakers did a really good job of keeping tension and having you wonder for a long time who this guy really is. Much of this is thanks to the performance of Stevens. In a way he's a very likable lead, even when things start to get weird you keep rooting for him. He plays "the guest" with so much conviction it's hard to tell what is going on in his mind but one thing is certain, you don't want him in your house for too long.

In conclusion The Guest is a great action-horror hybrid from the 80s that's influenced by it in the best possible way. You can tell that these guys have respect for 80s action-horror but also know how to transcend it in to a good movie with a lot of style and tension build in to it.

I was convinced this film was set in the 1980s until someone whipped out a laptop. The retro aesthetic recalls Nicolas Winding Refn's interminable Drive, but this is a far smarter and snappier film. Dan Stevens even resembles Ryan Gosling, except Stevens remembered to pack his charisma. In a star-making performance, he's mesmerising as an angel-eyed demon. Fans of Downton Abbey may be surprised to find him affecting a soft Southern American drawl and stabbing women in the heart.

Stevens plays David, who turns up on the doorstep of the grieving mother of his Marine unit buddy. He claims to have been friends with her son; to have watched him die. David gradually seduces the entire family: preying on the parents' emotional vulnerabilities; protecting the son from bullies; flashing his pecs to the daughter. There's great enjoyment and inherent humour in the fact that we know he's up to no good while the family fall for his pragmatic charms. (Hitchcock would have been grunting with delight.) Only when the bodies start piling up do the family start asking questions of their guest.

Apart from Stevens, all the actors bring their "A" game, to be fair. I particularly enjoyed Leland Orser's perennially nervous father, with his sad eyes and his burgeoning alcoholism, still in the denial stage. Maika Monroe also gets a juicy role as the hormonal daughter, negotiating her way around a community of jock douchebags and petty drug dealers.

CGI-free and reference-heavy, from the towering title font to the moody synth score, this is a direct throwback to those late-'80s/early-'90s domestic stalker thrillers that we 30-somethings remember watching in secret on fuzzy VHS. The Hitcher, Cape Fear, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, Sleeping with the Enemy et al all loom heavy, along with countless movies with words like "Fatal" and "Deception" in the title. At its best it's like John Carpenter in his ruthlessly efficient heyday.

The first two thirds of the film are an engrossing and surprisingly plausible slow burn, before events surge inexorably toward the pyrotechnic. The final act is bold but nonsensical, failing to live up to what preceded it. But overall this is superior, nasty B-movie fun, and far more inventive and darkly witty than Adam Wingard's previous film, the strangely overrated You're Next. Highly recommended.