In the opening scene of British horror film Host, a 20-something types away on her computer in a mundane apartment. 

At this point, I’m not expecting much. But I wasn’t expecting much before. The found-footage film is called Host after all. Not Black Host. Not Killer Host. Not even The Host like a parasite. Just Host – like game show host or party host or web host. 

But that’s not all. Its set up isn’t particularly scary either – a Zoom meeting gone bad. 

So, I’m not super pumped. 

Yet 60 seconds in, I paused the film on the streaming service Shudder. Why? I’m squirming. I watch horror films all the time for my blog, so I’m not the most faint-of-heart person, but now I’m not feeling so good, and it’s only been a minute. 

Now not much is happening, mind you. It’s a young woman in her apartment who hears knocking – that’s it. The noise doesn’t even seem that sinister, but I’m still squirming in my seat because she has to go down the hall to check it out. 

And that’s the genius of Host. It’s not much of a film, only 57 minutes long, but it scares the hell out of you. 

The way I feel is no accident. It’s by design via Director Rob Savage. He uses a mix of macabre light, competent story pacing, slight twists and chilling sound to create a subliminally creepy feel that gets under the skin. 

Now I’m sufficiently pumped for Host. I unpause the film that all the way through did not disappoint.

High Creep Factor 

Host is about six young women who decide it’d be fun to have a seance over a Zoom call. One of them hires a psychic to guide them through it. It goes horribly wrong. That’s pretty much it. 

So, why did this very simple film work? I think it’s because it maximized all the tools that horror writers and directors employ. Lighting is sufficiently creepy. Sound and music are well thought out choices, instead of arbitrary afterthoughts. The script is unpredictable yet follows logically. Nothing in this film is wasted. 

I watch a lot of horror, so I’ve seen the typical flour-on-the-floor trick to catch an otherwise invisible demon and the almost-obligatory trip to a creepy attic after a character hears a sound. 

But the addition of the Zoom meeting was a stroke of genius. I initially thought it would be lame, but it actually worked well. At times, I felt like I was part of the Zoom call. Like the other characters in Host, I looked at my screen, seeing what they supposedly saw.

Also, like almost all horror films do, it tapped into the primordial fear of being left alone to confront a threat that’s far greater in strength than you. Whether you’re alone on a Zoom call didn’t dampen that fear. 

I admired the creative use of technology work to heighten tension. If I had to pick the scariest scene, it’d be the one that used video effect filters. That’s partly because I’d never seen that used before in a horror film, so I didn’t know what to expect, which made it creepier. You’ll have to watch the film to see it as I don’t want to spoil it for you.

Why Character Development Matters

So I’ve been referring to the actors as the characters instead of by their names like in my other reviews. That’s because I can’t recall anyone’s name. The film is not about characters. It’s not about plot either. 

It’s also not really about breaking new ground in storytelling. For instance, in one scene a character hears a sound in the attic and has to check it out. No, she doesn’t. No reasonable person at that point would check that out. But it’s a horror film, so she does – of course. And yes, I love it when characters in horror films have to check out that creepy noises in attics or basements for no good reason, but that’s not the point. 

My point here is it’s far more satisfying for there to be a compelling reason to go to the attic, whether it’s because it’s within that character’s personality to do so or some other plot device. However, while I’ve seen this scene over and over again in horror films, I was still scared for the character, so it worked well enough. 

That said, Host did break some ground in presentation, and it’s potentially why a short film like this worked as well as it did. 

By using the Zoom feature, I was not only scared for the character who is venturing into the attic, but I’m also drawing on the fear of the other characters who are also terrified for the character going into the attic. It’s a collective event that heightens what should be a more mundane scare. 

What makes this film less scary than it could have been is lack of character development. This is not a criticism of the director. As I said before the film is what it is. But when the audience cares deeply about a character, a threat to the character makes it scarier. 

Here’s an example. In the final scenes of Alien (1979), we are truly afraid for Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley partly because we like and admire her at that point in the film. 

This is not an accident. 

Remember in an earlier scene when Ripley would not allow three crew members back on board the ship? A xenomorph had attacked a crew member and attached itself to his face. The other two had carried the crew member back to the ship for help and wanted to be let back in. Ripley said no. But she was quickly overridden by another crew member who simply let them on board. 

This scene could’ve been cut and it would not have changed the storyline. So why waste time showing a character refusing to let someone back on board when they get back on board anyway just seconds later?

Think about it. What would you do? 

Your choice here is who you are. So who is Ripley? She’s horribly independent. She doesn’t bend to authority unless authority makes sense to her. She’s completely her own person for better or worse. She doesn’t mind going it alone, and as a result, isn’t that popular or well-liked all the time. She can make tough decisions for the greater good of the whole. 

But most importantly, she has good judgment. Shortly after that scene, we find out how unbelievable good her judgment is. 

Now, at the end of the film, Ripley, the person we’ve come to like and perhaps even admire is in grave danger. We desperately want her to escape. 

Likewise, we know the alien. Yes, the alien is a character too. We know that it can’t be reasoned with as it doesn’t have a conscience. It’s a killing machine. No questions asked. No explanations given. It is what it is. 

In Host, I didn’t feel this way during this film. While the scares were real, they weren’t particularly deep. That’s because I don’t have any emotional investment with any of the characters, not even the demon or whatever it was. I don’t even know that much. What was attacking them. And why? Who knows. But really, who cares.  

Again, that’s not a shortcoming of the film, since it’s not designed to be on the level as Alien or any full-length horror film. It is what it is. 

Final Thoughts

Overall, I recommend this film. While it’s short, it’s well done. It lacks strong character development, but I admire its taut presentation, and it did actually scare me – a lot. 

The shortcomings of Host really aren’t shortcomings at all. The film is short and not designed to be more than what it is. Simply put, it works. It’s not supposed to be a major feature film that stays with you afterward. That’s OK. It’s a simple story told well enough. 

While it doesn’t break new grounds, it’s terribly relevant, having debuted on Shudder shortly after quarantine from COVID-19 had ended most places. Also, many companies still expect their employees to work from home, so Zoom meetings are ubiquitous these days. 

What do you think? Let me know in the comments. 

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Rating (4 of 5):