The Guest Review

It's a distinct pleasure to see an actor play against type, even more so when a role is such a shocking foil to an actor's previous, or most recognizable, work.  One of the joys of the post-Harry Potter cinematic landscape has been seeing the actors - most notably Daniel Radcliffe - take on different genres, media, and characters.  There's a similar, even more gratifying thrill, in seeing Dan Stevens shed the persona he so finely fashioned on Downton Abbey.  After his character's shocking departure from the show a couple seasons ago, many have wondered where Stevens would next surface; his role in The Guest is far from the costume dramas some might have expected.

Stevens' performance here is even more gratifying because of the way it subsumes certain details of his Matthew Crawley.  Just as the BBC/PBS show is a dramedy of manners, in which propriety seems always foremost on the characters' minds, so Stevens' David carries himself with the air of a Southern gentleman.  Davis is courteous, stoic, and self-effacing.  He remains quiet, removed, always watching and looking for opportunities to serve the family of his fallen comrade.  As the finer points of the film's plot surface, the genius of the performance becomes even clearer, and more startling.  Stevens has been tasked with carrying so much of the film's thematic weight, social commentary, and filmic nostalgia on his shoulders, and he does so without breaking a sweat.  This is a star-making turn not in that it reveals a great talent - Downton Abbey already did that in this case - but because it reveals this fine actor's range.

Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett, the director and writer who brought such gloriously bloody fun to the big screen with last year's You're Next, have outdone themselves with The Guest, which is a home invasion thriller of a very different cloth.  Whereas You're Next was a goofy twist on the slasher genre, The Guest has more bite.  The film is still a veritable genre playground, drenched in eighties nostalgia with obvious influence from The Terminator, G.I. Joe, and even - in the film's climactic scene - Carrie.  But it doesn't stop there.  While The Guest is often winking at its audience, and daring viewers to laugh, it also holds a mirror up to America's obsession with war, and the way the military transforms men into killing machines.

To say too much about the way things unfold would be unfair, as The Guest is such a joy to behold as it winds its way through surprising territory.  The film begins with David's arrival at the Peterson home in small-town New Mexico, where he introduces himself as a friend of eldest Peterson child Caleb, who was killed in action.  Matriarch Laura (Sheila Kelley) keeps his photo in a frame emblazoned with the words, "ALL GAVE SOME. SOME GAVE ALL."  That spirit of sacrifice lives on in David, who promised Caleb that he would do all in his power to help his family in any way he can.  And he does.

The unexpected houseguest - almost vampiric in that he doesn't force his entry, but is rather invited to come in, and then to stay - becomes a mutable companion to each member of the Peterson family.  He's a big brother-cum-bully fighter for younger brother Luke (Brendan Meyer), a designated driver and steamy eye candy for sister Anna (a stunning Maika Monroe), and a drinking buddy to the family's father, Spencer (Leland Orser).  The depths of David's dedication to his promise become clear pretty early on; his steely expression and proneness to brutal violence immediately make him suspicious to the audience, even as the Petersons and their friends don't quite catch on.

The Guest shares some of the strengths of You're Next, and even includes a couple fun nods to it for attentive viewers to find.  The violence is just as absurd in its scope and gratuitousness, but here, it makes up a smaller fraction of the film, making it all the more outrageous, and thus enjoyable.  The streak of violence that caps the film is excessive and shocking in the best way.  Just as You're Next featured a strong play on the Final Girl stock character that tends to pop up in slashers, so Anna becomes the film's hero, the only one smart enough to question all the strange occurrences and moral enough to care.

For those who care to dig deeper, The Guest reveals layers beneath its tension and gore.  It gutsily takes on the American war machine, mashes genres into a frightening reflection of our technological world, and contains plenty of cinematic allusions to satisfy cinephiles.  But even if one is looking for something mindless and fun, the film delivers, with perfect pacing building to a stunner of a finale, all set to one of the year's best soundtracks.  Wingard and Barrett again prove themselves masters of giving something the appearance of dumb fun while actually packing in plenty of intelligence and wit.  It's no wonder that The Guest is one of the year's most wholly satisfying films.