Famous film critic Paul Wells put forward the theory that the history of the horror film genre reflects the history of anxiety in modern society. The specialist listed the main narratives of modern horror: the collapse of spiritual and moral principles, social exclusion and identity crisis. It is these burning topics that affect the American horrors of âGuestâ (IMDb: 6.70) and âUninvited Guestsâ (IMDb: 5.70).
Most successful among newcomers
The film "Guest" reviews of foreign filmmakers hardly ranked as a horror genre, experts tend to position the picture as an action movie with elements of a thriller. Although he was deservedly assigned an MPAA-R rating and an age limit of 18+.
The premiere of the tape in the Russian Federation took place in 2015, the date of the world premiere is January 2014. The project was directed by the most successful young thriller-horror director of the ânew waveâ Adam Wingard, who previously participated in the production of the almanacs âThe Alphabet of Deathâ and âEvilâ. His debut work has repeatedly received close attention and praise from fans of "hard movies". Contributing authors of the profile press started talking about Wingard after the release of his author's slasher âYou Are Over!â âGuestâ (film 2014) reviews, in comparison with the first project, received a more positive, vivid visual style, juicy chernushny sense of humor attracted the attention of many.
Plot
The plot of the tape does not sparkle with innovative findings, so the film âGuestâ received restrained feedback on the storyline. Mrs. Peterson (Sheila Killy) and her husband (Leland Orser) recently experienced a terrible tragedy, their oldest son, who served in the army, died. Therefore, the appearance in their mansion of a colleague of the deceased David (Dan Stevens), who came to convey the last words of the deceased friend, did not alert the heartbroken couple. The Petersons persuade the young man to stay in their house, he soon finds an approach to the two youngest children of the spouses - Anna (Mike Monroe) and her brother Luke (Brendan Meyer). But is David who he claims to be?
Horror story about a wolf in sheep's clothing
After reading a brief description of the storyline to an experienced spectator, a fan of the genre, an understanding will come of why the plot of the painting âGuestâ (2015) is called another filmâs variation on the theme of a wolf in sheepâs clothing. Indeed, in terms of the scenario, the picture does not represent anything breakthrough. Such a development of history, the audience could see in the "Stepfather" and "Hand rocking the cradle." Moreover, despite a number of curious ideas of the screenwriter Simon Barrett on the topic of how dangerous it is to lose vigilance, the script and the entire film âGuestâ were recognized by reviews of foreign film critics as stitched white thread. This explains the carelessness of the characters in the picture, who periodically commit nonsense, not assigned to them by status.
At the Fight Club level
However, positive-minded reviewers, analyzing the film "Guest", posted constructive reviews, explaining the shortcomings of the script with the director's bets on style. And he is catchy, saturated in Wingardâs project, so the ill-conceived twists and turns of the plot action are drowning in him, like in a quagmire. Specialists associated the work of the director with a brilliant game of postmodernism, in which a whole layer of pop culture is visible. The soundtrack is similar to the musical accompaniment of the cult "Drive" and "Maniac", the pulsating camera movements and more than realistic scenes of violence, as in "Raid", the incessant references to the mainstream of the 90s. Indeed, Adam Wingard did not invent a new subgenre, he created a sort of mixtape.
For all the undoubted advantages of the film âGuestâ (2013), the reviews of individual viewers are put on a par with the canonical âFight Clubâ. However, film critics moderate their ardor, because the work of David Fincher contains universal morality, and the Wingard project does not solve pressing problems and does not teach anything like that.
Leading actors
The undisputed find of the film is deservedly considered the leading actor Dan Stevens, who is familiar to the viewers on the stiff British television movie âDownton Abbeyâ. The actor fit perfectly into the image of his character - courteous, fit, attractive. Dan's hero constantly smiles, while his smile has hundreds of shades, its spectrum varies from a sincere sympathy to a menacing grin that does not portend anything good. The charm of the character of Stevens extends not only to the gullible couple of the Petersons, but also to the watchers, because even when the hero demonstrates his dark side, the viewer will continue to sympathize with him. And he will be ârootingâ for David, and not for an armada of agents sent to neutralize him. David from Stevens is an antagonist, with charisma that dwarfs all the goodies of the film.
In professionalism, the performer of the role of Anna Mike Monroe is not inferior to him, which, according to the filmmakers, already steps on the heels of Jamie Lee Curtis. Perhaps in the near future she will become the new âqueen of the cryâ, especially if after the âGuestâ the actress will be paid attention by the mastodons of modern directing, weaned from postmodernism.
She should not be bothered. Horror "Uninvited guests"
The creators of Uninvited Guests, director Adam Schindler, screenwriter T.J. Simfel, under the leadership of a group of producers, were well prepared to advance their project by creating an exciting trailer. Although the intriguing video shows the most significant plot twist, it definitely catches up, prompting you to watch it. Cinema critics, describing the horror âUninvited guestsâ, left the reviews about the film diametrically opposed, not forgetting to indicate the age limit of 18+ and the MPAA rating of R. The structure of the narration of the picture was especially criticized, although the beginning of the film is quite promising.
Synopsis
The film begins with an introduction to the main character Anna (Beth Risgraf), suffering from agoraphobia, and her brother, who is on his deathbed. A man dies of cancer, but even in the last minutes of her life, Anna refuses to forgive her brother, which clearly hints at the presence of significant skeletons in the family closet. The narrative begins to develop more vigorously with the advent of a trio of bandits in the composition of a weak-character coward, a mentally unstable maniac and an assembled leader. Then it would be time to start worrying about the fate of the unfortunate heroine, unable to leave the walls of her home. However, not everything is so sad, it turns out that Anna has a pair of trump cards in her sleeve. Soon it is no longer clear who the poor victim is and who is the cold-blooded hunter. This is the synopsis of the uninvited guests horror. Reviews of the 2015 film characterize the plot of the picture as secondary.
Mexican Duel
It is not possible to blame the bias of the reviewers who blame Adam Schindler's draft for the weakness of the narrative structure. The author puts all the cards on the table too quickly: the heroine cannot leave the house due to agoraphobia, the robbers turn the mansion upside down in search of money, and then the same âskeleton in the closetâ pops up. After that, the story seems to crash into an invisible barrier and simply refuses to move on. The real âMexican duel" begins, diluted with primitive sessions of psychoanalysis, during which all the secrets of the past main character creep out into the light. The plot mosaic really does develop too quickly, although the creators are doing their best to delay the climax of the final revelation.
Advantages and disadvantages
The efforts of the authors were underestimated in full. Reviews of the movie "Uninvited guests" (2016) indicate a number of shortcomings, including a small amount of material for a full-length film, characters that can be counted on the fingers. Some reviewers claim that at some point, horror turns into a boring and tedious "boltology." Among the advantages of the film is most often called the professional visual part, performed at a decent level, and the powerful negative charisma of Jack Kesi, who played the role of leader of the gangster trinity. Although, according to film critics, even he is not able to help determine the authors of the project, what exactly they are shooting is a brutal, cruel exploit of the type âI spit on your gravesâ (then holes in the narrative logic and excesses of the storyline are considered acceptable) or a psychological thriller in where bets are placed on complex characteristics, not on rivers of blood. As a result, according to the verdict of experts, the creators of the picture miss neither one nor the other - the heroes are stereotyped, secrets are predictable, episodes of violence are rare.