It's snowy here on the east coast. Life has been weird and stressful, people are terrible, and I need to decompress. My go-to for whenever I'm feeling worse than usual has never really changed: watching horror movies. Can't stop crying? Horror. Break-up? Horror. Wanting to die? Horror. Need to punch someone in the face but don't want to get arrested? Horror. It never fails me.
Clocking in at just over an hour, Host is an easy choice. As a fan of both shaky cam and pseudo docs, I couldn't say no to this. The premise is unoriginal: friends conducting a séance over the internet, and then watching as one after the other is terrorized on camera. That being said, and I've probably iterated this before, it doesn't have to be thoroughly original to work. I like that Host is using the current pandemic and Zoom craze as the centerpiece for their story. In fact, if you watch the actual attempted séance that the cast and crew did (which should play immediately after the film ends, and may or may not be fake, but do I really care?), it looks as though at least some of the cast were filming from their homes the entire time. Don't quote me on that; I could be wrong. But if I'm not, then that truly is such a pandemic thing to do. I love it.
As far as plot goes, there isn't one beyond the obvious Zoom call. We know nothing about any of the characters. We are simply voyeurs in a group video chat gone wrong, and it's as simple as that. If you're looking for something deeper and more fleshed out, you'll be disappointed. If you just want an hour of jump scares, then this is a good choice.
My Grade: B+
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