THE GUEST (2014)

Studio:       Universal Studios
Director:    Adam Wingard
Writer:       Simon Barrett
Producer:  Jessica Calder, Keith Calder
Stars:     Dan Stevens, Maika Monroe, Leland Orser, Sheila Kelley, Brendan Meyer, Chase Williamson, Ethan Embry, Joel David Moore, Lance Reddick

Review Score:

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Summary:

An unexpected houseguest turns the lives of the Peterson family upside down in violent ways as his true identity is uncovered.

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

A man claiming to be David Anderson Collins arrives unannounced at the Peterson family home and introduces himself to Laura Peterson as having served in the military with her deceased son Caleb. David claims that he was recently discharged from Fort Kennelworth. David also claims to have been with Caleb when he died and is fulfilling a wish to tell each of Caleb’s family members how much he loved them. Laura recognizes David from a group photo of Caleb’s military unit.

Laura invites David to stay in the Peterson home. David meets Laura’s husband Spencer and their children Anna and Luke. Luke idolizes David after he fights a gang of bullies and blackmails the principal into reversing David’s expulsion. Anna also becomes fascinated with David, which causes issues with her boyfriend Zeke. Spencer gradually warms to having David in the house. David goes to a party with Anna at her friend Kristen’s house. David knocks out Kristen’s abusive ex-boyfriend Drew and has sex with Kristen. David meet’s Kristen’s friend Craig and asks if Craig can help him acquire a gun.

Anna comes to suspect that David may not be exactly who he says he is and starts investigating his background. Anna contacting the military about David initiates a top-secret search for him led by Major Carver of the KPG Corporation.

Craig arranges a gun deal for David with his friend Higgins. David ends up shooting both Craig and Higgins before taking all of the weapons.

Spencer is promoted at his office after a coworker ends up dead under mysterious circumstances. When Zeke tells Anna about Craig’s murder, she begins suspecting that David might have something to do with the deaths. Zeke is arrested for Craig’s shooting when the murder weapon is found in his van.

Anna tells her family that the military told her David Collins is dead. David claims it is a cover story because of his classified Special Forces involvement. Spencer and Laura berate Anna and choose to believe David.

Anna recruits Luke to help her dig into David’s background, specifically his connection to a plastic surgeon in Florida. Luke tells David about Anna’s suspicions. David asks if Anna told anyone else. Luke speculates that Kristen might know.

Major Carver arrives at the Petersons’ home with a team of armed soldiers. David spots the men and opens fire. Laura realizes that David is not who he says he is and tries alerting Carver to David’s whereabouts, but David stabs and kills her. David escapes in the Petersons’ vehicle with Carver in pursuit.

David spots Spencer driving in the opposite direction and purposely crashes into him head-on. David then executes Spencer and continues fleeing on foot.

Major Carver finds Anna at her diner job and puts her under his protection. Carver explains to Anna that David was a soldier who participated in a medical experiment, but murdered several people during the study and escaped. Carver tells Anna that David killed her parents as is programmed to eliminate all “loose ends.”

David arrives at the diner after Carver and Anna leave. David executes Kristen and blows up the building with grenades.

Carver and Anna arrive at the high school to search for Luke, who is aiding the setup of the Halloween dance. David also arrives and murders Luke’s teacher as well as Major Carver. Anna and Luke look for a way out until they end up in a showdown with David. David tries strangling Anna after she shoots him, but Luke stabs David seemingly to death. As Anna and Luke recover on the back of an ambulance in the aftermath, Anna observes David walking out of the building disguised as one of the firefighters.

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Review:

Since bowing at Sundance and extending its festival presence into SXSW, “The Guest” has lapped up heaps of hoots, hollers, and praise from midnight audiences pleased by the film’s balls-to-the-wall sense of throwback thriller cinema.  Indeed, “The Guest” has plenty of flair, style, and grin-worthy scenes poised to delight demented appetites for seeing the teeth of bullies and bumblers meet walls at high speeds.  But there is a hollow feeling to the substance that makes a lasting impression less likely, despite the film’s short-term satisfaction.

Still mourning the wartime death of their soldier son Caleb, the Petersons have their working class world thrown for a greater loop when an odd yet irresistibly charming man arrives on their doorstep.  Claiming to be Caleb’s platoon partner and best friend, the family even has a photo on the mantle depicting the two of them together, David has been dispatched to pass on parting words of “I love you” consolation to distraught mother Laura, woe-is-me father Spencer, mopey brother Luke, and rebellious sister Anna.

Mom sees David as a potential surrogate to at least temporarily fill Caleb’s void.  Everyone else in the Peterson household just sees an uninvited guest.  Until the various pests, troublemakers, and workplace rivals plaguing their mundane suburban lives start turning up dead.  Spencer enjoys a promotion at the office.  Luke gains the confidence to fight back at school.  But Anna decides to dig into David’s military background and discover who this mystery man with permanent solutions to temporary problems really is.

“The Guest” is a vigilante action film with a black comedy bent and an overdose of nostalgia for 1980’s hyper-violence and cinematic styling.  Where it works best is in its characterizations of one unpredictable dynamite stick just waiting to light and an average assembly of blue collar Joneses.

A great deal of “The Guest” is carried by David’s charm, embodied to a tee by Dan Stevens, who commands all eyes on him whenever he is onscreen.  Stevens infuses David with an impossibly handsome smoothness when he needs to be friendly or sympathetic, and a dangerous cold stare when it comes time to amp up the atmosphere with tension.

David’s disarming smile accents his charismatic way with words, even though he always says more with his posture and presence.  Screenwriter Simon Barrett intentionally gives David only as much dialogue as is necessary while keeping his mystique intact, allowing director Adam Wingard to give Stevens free reign for letting loose in the moments when it comes time to explode.

Rising to meet Stevens’ impressive performance pound-for-pound is Maika Monroe as Anna, David’s unlikely teenage nemesis.  “The Guest” is almost as much her movie to own as it is Stevens’.  And Monroe, who is a shoo-in to portray Gwen Stefani should there ever be a No Doubt biopic, does indeed own it.

The letdown with “The Guest” is that for all the fun it delivers in individual segments, highlighted by amusing moments and juicy revenge scenarios, the whole package is too glib in its tone for a story with any true depth.  The ongoing mystery regarding who David really is and why he chooses the Petersons for a safe haven seems to be building towards a revelation that the script does not actually contain.

Constant teasing about what is taking place offscreen in between scenes gives the impression of a big payoff or twist, and then the movie settles for straightforward vignettes about a one-man army with a loose screw turning an unassuming small town upside-down.  “The Guest” feels like it should have been smarter than its simple setup, but it is just fine being “good enough.”

Smiles initially accompany the end of the movie, until there is a “hey, wait a minute” realization that the reason why David arrived at the Peterson’s in the first place is never explained.  Keep looking back after the fact and the light bulbs continue igniting.  “The Guest” ends up as less of a fully satisfying film and more of a passport for Wingard, Barrett, and the cast to run wild in a well-crafted, but somewhat empty playground.  Sure, that may make for some crowd-pleasing moments, but not necessarily a lasting impression.

Review Score:  65

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