A soldier named David (Dan Stevens) arrives at the doorstep of the Peterson family, claiming to be an army buddy of their deceased son. Matriarch Laura (Sheila Kelley) welcomes the stranger into the home, happy to have a connection to her child. The family quickly falls for David’s southern charm as he finds ways to insert himself into their lives,—helping son Luke (Brendan Meyer) who is being bullied in school, and being an empathetic ear for father Spencer (Leland Orser) who is struggling to get ahead at work. While daughter Anna (Maika Monroe) also initially falls under David’s spell, she soon finds herself questioning his identity and motive, and a phone call to learn more about him kicks off events that take the film in a totally different direction.
While The Guest first appears to be a dramatic story of how the newly-arrived guest will help the Peterson family overcome their struggles, it quickly becomes clear that something is not quite right with David. As he assists the family members with their issues, he tends to go a bit overboard, resorting to extreme violence. And if those scenes weren’t enough to clue in the viewer, we also get a few shots of David sitting, staring blankly off into the distance while some villainous dun-dun-dun music plays in the background. About a third of the way into the film the viewer finally gets a sense of what is really going on—the pace of the film really picks up and it becomes a full-blown action-thriller.
The film has a throwback look and feel, and feels like a classic 80s action-thriller. Helping in this regard is the film’s electronica-style soundtrack. Some of the action sequences feel like something out of Terminator, Westworld or Big Trouble in Little China. The film builds in tension as it goes along, and culminates in an extremely-tense, edge-of-your-seat final showdown that feels like something straight out of a classic 80s action-thriller. While I found the ending to a bit predictable and cliche, I was still on the edge of my seat, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Dan Stevens is excellent in this role—his accent sounds natural and believable, and he plays both the charming southern boy and the creepy sociopath equally well. You are never quite sure of what David is going to do and whether he is truly good or bad. If roles/performances like this one is why Stevens left Downton Abbey, then I’m glad “Matthew Crawley” exited that series when he did!
The audio and video presentation of the Blu-ray is quite nice. The picture is crisp and clear, and dark and light scenes both look great. The dialogue and music are both clear, and successfully set the ambiance for the film’s final showdown.
I found the bonus features to be a bit underwhelming. There are just 15 minutes of deleted scenes (this runtime includes two completed scenes from the film for comparison), a short interview with star Dan Stevens, and an audio commentary by the writer and director of the film. The Blu-ray Combo Pack also includes DVD, Ultraviolet and Digital Copies of the film.
While the bonus features may be meager, the Blu-ray is worth checking out for the film itself, which feels like a classic action-thriller with a stellar performance by Dan Stevens.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:40:25)
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Blu-ray:
- 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
- Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
- 480p / Widescreen 2.40:1
- Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
- UltraViolet DigitalHD Copy redeemable via Universal, Flixster, Vudu, Target Ticket or CinemaNow
- Digital Copy redeemable via iTunes or Windows Media
DVD:
Digital Copy (For redemption deadline see NBCUcodes.com):
Extras:
- Deleted Scenes (15:00)
Play All or select from “Deleted Original Opening”, “Extended Intro To The Peterson Family”, “Anna Finds David’s Gun”, “Anna Meets David with Final Cut For Comparison”, “David Confronts Anna”, “Clown Gag” and “Zeke’s Bedroom”. Deleted scenes can be played with optional commentary by director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett. The scenes don’t add much, but viewers can get a glimpse into the editing process by watching two different versions of two of the film’s sequences. There is also an on-set prank to scare the lead actress. - Q&A With Dan Stevens (2:32)
Actor Dan Stevens talks about playing the role of David, taking on the action-thriller genre, and some of the music used in the film. - Feature Commentary (1:40:25)
Director Adam Wingard and Writer Simon Barrett provide commentary throughout the film. While they provide a lot of interesting behind-the-scenes information about the casting and filming process, but they also talk a lot about other projects and get quite negative at times, complaining about things they should have done differently.
Final Thoughts:
The Guest is a great action-thriller with a 1980s throwback look and feel. Dan Stevens is excellent in the role of the mysterious guest David. The film had me on the edge of my seat by the end for a classic action-thriller final stand-off. The minimal bonus features on the Blu-ray are a bit disappointing, but the audio/video presentation is great, and the film is definitely worth checking out if you are looking for a fun thriller.
