Rather than simply giving the impression that you’re watching a real-time Zoom call, observing this film through the boxy frames of a laptop screen goes a long way into connecting you with the horror that is taking place. In this case, the visual and audio confusion of unstable internet connections and murky darkness is the entire point. This is also a rare example of a film best watched on a monitor rather than a 50-inch flat-screen with surround sound. We experience social distancing and lockdown measures every single day, so right away it’s easy to feel connected to the events on screen and the characters experiencing them. Host creates a virtual space that feels intimate and inviting, but above all else, it is offers something immediately recognisable. Found-footage films have naturally always had a problem with believability and, for the most part, Savage conjures a believable atmosphere within a silly scenario. The actors also had to work apart and set up their own stunts for the feature. Savage didn’t step foot in any of the locations, choosing to direct everything remotely.
Host is a little different in that the pandemic that forces the remote interaction in the film and its construction is real. Gimmicks – whether it’s the impressive tracking shots of 1917 (2019) or the shaky camcorder of Cloverfield (2008) – are always initially interesting, until they’re not, and then they become a distraction to the story. Telling the story entirely through video calls and cameras was a restriction deliberately enforced to make everything seem as clever and immediate as possible. The problem with this is that the desktop gimmick becomes harder to shake off the further along the film goes. Two years ago we had Aneesh Chaganty’s surprisingly emotional thriller Searching (2018), which worked on the strength of John Cho’s performance and the film’s craft. When done well, found-footage films offer a level of intimacy that you just don’t get from anything else. The premise is simple: a group of bored friends conduct a séance through their laptop screens during a pandemic. The credit goes to British director Rob Savage’s ingenious Zoom-based horror and Shudder Original, Host.
The pandemic has taught us many things, and now we know that Zoom calling a demon is conclusively a bad idea. “A dark, devilish reminder of a terrible and very strange year.”
0 kommentar(er)
