The Guest

- The guest. (2014. Dir. Adam Wingard). The Petersons have been something of a broken family ever since eldest song Caleb was killed in Afghanistan. One day they are visited by David, a former comrade of Caleb’s, whom they invite to stay for a while. David quickly fills the void in their lives —father Spencer, mother Laura, daughter Anna and son Luke all find their lives improved since his arrival. Mostly through manipulative, violent means. David beats up Luke’s bullies, gets rid of Anna’s drug-dealing boyfriend… and then Spencer’s business rival is found dead. But the worst is yet to come, as David’s sinister past will soon explode in an apocalyptic manner…

Intriguing thriller from hit-and-miss director Wingard (“You’re next”, the wraparound section of “V/H/S”, “Blair Witch”…), with a terrific first and second act that carefully balance menace and character drama. And then the third act suddenly shifts gears into full-on Action / Slasher mode —while the acting and direction remain as taut as ever, the tonal shift is so jarring that most viewers will find it hard to take seriously. 

Nevertheless, the result is still a good lean and mean thriller with complex acting and a script that carefully releases only the necessary amount of information. All in all, flawed, yet still worth a look.