Host Shudder Original Movie Review: The Little Movie That Could

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The following review of Host is spoiler free!

As the coronavirus pandemic stretches on, filmmakers have found themselves struggling to find innovative ways to continue on in their craft. While movies like Searching (which is fantastic, by the way) and Unfriended attempted to provide stories via webcam footage and glimpses of a laptop interface, Host does it out of necessity rather than due to a stylistic choice. Director Rob Savage uses the pandemic as a realistic backdrop for a relatively simple movie.

Due to the technological limitations from actors being restrained to working from their webcams and Host's devotion to realism, the movie is very brief. It's only 57 minutes long - the length of a free group Zoom call. However, the short length of the movie doesn't hold it back. In fact, it makes Host a fast and fun horror movie for a season where we can't expect many new films. There's no unnecessary exposition, nor are there lengthy scenes to show us the relationships between the characters. Instead, the movie jumps right into what the viewer wants. If the movie were any longer it would become tiresome and dull, so the short length is the perfect amount of time to meet the main characters and watch as the horror unfolds.

I'll admit, Host isn't a masterpiece. It has a few fun jumpscares, a clever premise, and little else to offer aside from that. Were it not for the pandemic it would be easily forgotten, but the surrounding circumstances make this short film a unique little piece of history. Host isn't just a short horror movie, it's a brief glimpse into the lives of those of us who are living through the 2020 pandemic. It demonstrates some surprising technological achievements and succeeds in showing the effective nature of (mostly) practical effects.

Host isn't a movie I expect to revisit any time soon, there aren't many layers to its storytelling which warrant future viewings. However, it certainly is worth watching at least once to see how a crew managed to piece together a simple little scary movie at a time where such a task seemed impossible. 

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