4K / BLU-RAY REVIEW - "THE GUEST" (LIMITED EDITION)
2014 was a pretty great year for independent horror. The list of films released that year alone reads like the greatest hits of the genres over 2010-2020. Let’s run down a brief list; THE BABADOOK, LAST SHIFT, THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT, CREEP, CLOWN, GOODNIGHT MOMMY, HOUSEBOUND, STARRY EYES, IT FOLLOWS, and you get the point. Alongside this outstanding roster, another film graced our eyes and ears in 2014; THE GUEST. The genre-bending love child of ADAM WINGARD and SIMON BARRETT was not only an outstanding follow-up to 2011’s YOU’RE NEXT, but it was an absolute sleeper hit, even to this day. Thank goodness for the physical media renaissance we are having at the moment and for companies bringing films new and old to the new 4k format. Macabre Daily was fortunate enough to take a peek at the upcoming Limited Edition release of THE GUEST from SECOND SIGHT FILMS and see if this guest is a welcome addition to your physical media collection!
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
A soldier introduces himself to the Peterson family, claiming to be a friend of their son who died in action. After the young man is welcomed into their home, a series of accidental deaths seem to be connected to his presence.
David has a license to kill…you with his good looks and charm, not!
HOW IS IT?
I’m not going to beat around the bush on this one, I fucking love this movie! Like many, I became aware of THE GUEST after its very small theatrical run on a streaming service. I couldn’t tell you which one, but suffice to say I had heard the buzz about it and it was free to stream so the stars aligned. It’s the kind of movie that is almost better going into knowing nothing about it. It’s a disarming piece of cinema in many ways because of how many different genres and tones it juggles throughout, and it juggles them very well. Probably the best way to describe it would be, “what if Terminator was a horror movie?”.
The genius behind THE GUEST is the way the film decides to expose information to both the characters and the audience. In many horror films, the audience is aware of the danger before the characters are. While this can create moments of tension (like when you see the killer before the character does) it also loses some of the mystery. It unbalances the scales so that the audience has the advantage over the characters, which in turn lessens the impact of the horror they face. THE GUEST levels that playing field. Putting the viewer and the characters in equal footing as the mystery around David, the returning soldier, unfolds in front of everyone. This is not a new approach per se, but it is a masterful example of how to build mystery and tension into the narrative as well as the action.
None of this would matter of course if the characters and actors portraying weren’t firing on all levels. DAN STEVENS is truly transformative as David, and that’s no easy feat considering the character of David. Dan plays David as the epitome of a “wolf in sheep's clothing”. The duality of charming/likable and deadly/deceptive is delivered perfectly. So much so, that even when David is going full sociopath you still have a hard time writing him off. To that end, the cast around David helps to sell this sentiment even more. Take Anna (MAIKA MONROE) for example. The moment she discovers David’s secret, the same time we do, you can tell through her body language alone that she is wrestling with who she thinks David is and who he really is. It’s the kind of human experience (our bias for prioritizing the good, or the bad, we see in someone over the facts) that we can all relate to at some level. The feeling of betrayal and disbelief that the person you thought you knew you didn’t actually know at all. It’s moments like these, along with the truly brutal and operatic violence, that elevates THE GUEST to being more than just a horror/thriller. I could go on for days, but suffice to say this THE GUEST is one of the best horror films since the start of the new millennium.
Siblings stand together to figure out who David really is
HOW DOES IT LOOK?
***For the sake of transparency, we were only provided the 4K disc to review so I cannot comment on the Blu-Ray that is included with this Limited Edition release.***
A round of applause to SECOND SIGHT for this absolutely outstanding 4K transfer. While this is a UK release, the good news is that 4K discs do not require a region-free player. This should be music to the ears of folks in the US as the blu-ray UNIVERSAL was released way back when is long out of print and going for a bit more than retail on the second-hand market. The UHD disc is presented in industry-standard Dolby Vision HDR and looks absolutely fantastic. Given that the film is relatively recent, the enhancements in picture quality over previous blu-ray releases may not be immediately apparent. It is worth noting that both versions of this release (4K HDR and Blu Ray) underwent new color upgrading during the transfer process that was supervised by director Adam Wingard. The most noticeable aspects of this upgrade occur in some of the interior home scenes and close-up shots of characters’ faces.
HOW DOES IT SOUND?
Both the 4K and Blu-Ray versions of the disc come with an English language Dolby DTS-HD 5.1 audio mix. This is not a new audio mix from previous releases, but it is a fantastic audio mix for those who have a compatible audio setup at home. I will also make mention of the mixing being on-point. Particularly the difference between action and dialogue scenes. Lots of recent audio mixes don’t balance dialogue and action as well, so it was really nice to not have to play with the volume as scenes change.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the score and soundtrack here. This is one of the first films that I can remember that embraced the “synth-wave” trend well before it became more popular in the back half of the 2010s. The score works so well giving the film a throwback vibe that feels modern and fits perfectly with the songs selected for certain scenes. If you love synth-heavy scores and music, you will LOVE THE GUEST.
ANYTHING SPECIAL?
***For the sake of transparency, we were only able to review the special features on the 4K UHD disc and not the physical contents of the Limited Edition package***
For fans of this film, you have found the ultimate edition of THE GUEST! This release from SECOND SIGHT is absolutely loaded with interviews, commentaries, and featurettes. SECOND SIGHT carried over the previous commentary track with ADAM WINGARD and SIMON BARRETT, and also had them record a new commentary track for this release. I was not able to listen to both commentaries so I can’t speak to the difference, but I would highly recommend the new commentary track created for this release as it is interesting to hear how these two accomplished filmmakers view this film now that so much time has passed and their careers are in different places. It’s a candid conversation about the reception of the film, what they would have done differently, and how they see the film today. The other special features reviewed include a few interviews with Wingard & Barrett as well as with actor DAN STEVENS. A full list of special features on the disc is included below, along with some of the physical contents of the Limited Edition:
ON-DISC SPECIAL FEATURES
• New commentary by Director Adam Wingard and Writer Simon Barrett
• Archive commentary by Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett
• The Uninvited Guest: a new interview with Actor Dan Stevens
• A Perfect Stranger: a new interview with Actor Maika Monroe
• By Invitation Only: a new interview with Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett
• Producing The Guest: a new interview with Producers Keith Calder and Jess Wu Calder
• Light and Fog: a new interview with Director of Photography Robby Baumgartner
• Lightning Strikes: a new interview with Production Designer Tom Hammock
• The Sounds of The Guest: a new interview with Composer Steve Moore
• Deleted / Alternate Scenes, Outtake Gag with optional Director commentary
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
• Limited Edition of 5,000
• Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Adam Stothard
• Dual UHD / Blu-ray format
• Various Artists Soundtrack CD
• 160-page book with new essays by Tim Coleman, Zena Dixon, Craig Ian Mann and Zoe Rose Smith; Script-to-Screen featuring storyboards and script extracts, Behind-the-Scenes photos and Adam Wingard soundtrack notes
• 6 collectors’ art cards
David didn’t want to speak to the manager, he wanted to kill her
LAST RITES
THE GUEST gets the special edition treatment that it so rightly deserves to delight fans of the film and those who have never experienced it before, and it has never looked or sounded better!
THE GORY DETAILS
Directed By
Written By
Starring
Where can you watch it?
SECOND SIGHT FILMS welcomes THE GUEST – ADAM WINGARD’S cult favorite thriller, starring DAN STEVENS in a career-defining turn–on to Limited Edition dual 4K and Blu-ray on 25 October 2021.
