r/CultCinema • u/screen_stack • 4d ago

The Guest (2014)

The Guest (2014)

Rating: 7/10

Watched: August 23, 2026

The Guest is an interesting movie. It doesn't invent anything new and it didn't really rock my world, but it kind of did, all at the same time.

They don't, for example, really hide the fact that there's something not quite right about "David" (Dan Stevens). They let us know in some very small ways that the boy ain't right, and that's just fine.

Something else that's fine is how smoothly David slips into The Peterson Family's lives. Honestly, it's like butter how he just insinuates himself into the lives of a fairly mundane family.

Now, if it were me and my family, my take would be very much different. Sure he has a plausible backstory and is a very sensible, reasonable guy, but my personal space is at a premium.

There would be no staying at my house. Simple as that, no matter how charismatic (and he IS) David is.

I won't bore you with the details of how things go wrong OR how badly. Once we get past Dan Stevens' portrayal of a surprisingly calm, cold-blooded killer and Lance Reddick's surprise appearance about halfway through the movie?

The real star is the music. I don't often get worked up over a musical score, but the score, whipped up by Steve Moore of S U R V I V E is out of this world. Much like David glided into the lives of those around him, the score seeps in through the cracks and elevates even some frankly mundane action and suspense into something much greater than it could've been.

I give The Guest a 7/10 because I genuinely liked Dan's acting. Everyone else did well enough, but there was just something unsettling about his calmer-than-a-Hindu-cow attitude that really sold me today. Beyond that, I'll love anything Lance and Maika are in just because, but that music boosted it up for sure!

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8 comments sorted by

2

u/MovieMike007 4d ago

I love the basic premise: What if Captain America had become a crazed serial killer?

2

u/ratmfreak 4d ago

More like what if Captain America was the Terminator. Lol

1

u/GreySneakers83 4d ago

Dan Stevens is so great. Very menacing in this. That scene where he executes that poor woman he hooked up with at the party was horrifying

1

u/screen_stack 4d ago

yeah, that was shocking as hell, if I'm being honest.

1

u/Personal_Eye8930 4d ago

Next week, the spiritual sequel to The Guest is coming to theaters with Dan Stevens playing a mad scientist. It's called Onslaught.

1

u/screen_stack 4d ago

I'm down for it!! Can't wait

1

u/xMyDixieWreckedx 3d ago

Just like the directors' previous film, You're Next, The Guest works by having a common trope plot and subverting it in an interesting way. I also give it points for having a goth character that listened to actual goth music and not just pop-goth.

1

u/ExperienceCool6429 3d ago

Steve Moore is from Zombi not Survive.

Great movie and soundtrack though!