THE GUEST: Sundance Film Festival Buzz

I'M BY UR MANTELPIECE PLOTTING UR DESTRUCTION

For those of us who are big fans of Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett, but were not able to attend Sundance this year (ahem), it was kind of a bummer because their new movie The Guest screened at the festival.

But wait! All is not lost. The Guest will be screening at this year's Toronto International Film Festival's Midnight Madness programme!

What is The Guest about anyway? After Caleb Peterson dies in Afghanistan, his army pal David pays Caleb's family a visit. Sounds tender and heartbreaking, right? WRONG. David is not who he appears to be and things turn creepy with a quickness.

Now why should you care? That's where this blog comes in. Here are some juicy tidbits from the Sundance reviews of The Guest that will leave you hungry for more.

"A concept hatched after an accidental double-feature of The Terminator and Halloween, The Guest is the perfect synthesis of Cameron, Carpenter and Cannon [Films] and one of the most fun films at this year's Sundance Film Festival."
--Indiewire

"Played in a key of macabre black comedy that's deadpan save whenever all hell breaks loose," The Guest is "nasty fun."
--Variety

"Barrett and Wingard haven't lost their ironically humorous touch, as most of the film's uneasy laughs revolve around upending typical thriller expectations."
--The Hollywood Reporter

"Adam Wingard's The Guest feels like a lost [John] Carpenter film from the director's golden age. The picture effortlessly moves between a nerve-wracking mystery to a gleefully dark comedy, and at its best it even mixes the two together."
--Collider

"The Guest is a modern movie, but one that has a sensibility that feels a bit like a return to a lost form. It's tight and smart and often very funny..."
--Badass Digest

"The Guest is genuinely great filmmaking... a crafty crowdpleaser that's still intelligent enough to warrant real consideration about what it's saying about the contemporary culture that gave birth to it, through both style and substance."
--Crave Online

"Equal parts creepy, slow-burn horror and bloody, balls-out actioner, Wingard and Barrett again prove that best kind of genre movie is the one with which you can have the most outright fun."
--Twitch

"This is a ninety-minute thrill-ride that fits right in with the very best genre fare of that era. Big thrills, big laughs, and tons of carnage--The Guest has it all and deserves to be a real crossover hit for both Wingard and [actor Dan] Stevens."
--JoBlo.com

So let's review: John Carpenter, retro yet modern, black comedy, and creepy slow-burn horror. I think I'm in love with The Guest. Don't forget to get tickets to a screening.

THE GUEST screening times:
Sat., Sept. 13th, 11:59 PM, RYERSON
Sun., Sept. 14th, 6:45 PM, SCOTIABANK 3