Anyone who's anyone that's been 'round here for as long as yours truly knows my affinity for a really good scare, and it's in that pursuit that I'm always pleased to plug ones now and then. As I've often said (as well as been advised), it's good to reach outside your comfort zone to find something else which captivates the mind or titillates the senses, and ... well, what can I say? Horror tends to do that for me.
Not every horror. Mind you, I've never much been a fan of the slasher and/or splatter style flicks. I can appreciate the real-world tension of a motion picture like Saw, but when studios latch onto the premise and frontload release after release after release of the same formula down our theatrical gullets it gets old real quick.
Horror that opens that fragile doorway between where we are and what lies beyond?
Oh, yeah.
Daddy likes that stuff.
So it's in that respect that I'm thrilled to share the following press release I received this morning from my friends at RLJE Films. They don't have a screener for me review, so always keep in mind this is 'buyer beware.' For what it's worth, I've checked out the trailer, and Host (2020) certainly looks interesting. The flick looks to combine the live footage (aka 'found footage') format with some fairly traditional 'jump scares," and I've always found those features generally of merit. But, as I said, buyer beware ...
LOS ANGELES (Dec. 28, 2020) – RLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has picked up select rights to HOST from Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural. HOST will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on February 2, 2021. The film is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a 100 percent score on the Tomatometer.
HOST was shot remotely during quarantine and features groundbreaking scares, stunts, and surprises, all filmed by the actors in their own homes. The project was commissioned, written, produced and will be released in under three months. HOST is the feature directorial debut of Rob Savage who co-wrote the film with Gemma Hurley (Shoot for the Moon) and Jed Shepherd (Multiplex). The film stars Haley Bishop (Angel Has Fallen), Radina Drandova (“Pickled Eggs”), Jemma Moore (Wonder Woman), Caroline Ward (The IMAX Nutcracker), Emma Louise Webb (“The Crown”), and Edward Linard (Golden Years). RLJE Films will release HOST on DVD for an SRP of $12.98 and Blu-ray for an SRP of $14.98.
In HOST, six friends hire a medium to conduct a séance during lockdown for their weekly Zoom call. Jemma decides to pull a prank and makes up a story about a boy she knew in high school who hanged himself. By doing this, Jemma inadvertently invites a demonic presence to cross over. Soon the friends begin noticing strange occurrences in their homes as the evil spirit begins to make itself known, and they all realize this night may be their last.
-- EZ