HOSTS (2020)
Label: Dark Sky FilmsDuration: 89 Minutes
Region Code: 1 NTSC
Audio: English Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0 & Surround 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen (2.39:1)
Directors: Adam Leader & Richard Oakes
Cast: Neal Ward, Samantha Loxley, Frank Jakeman, Nadia Lamin, Lee Hunter, Jennifer Preston, Buddy Skelton
On the night of Christmas Eve Michael (Frank Jakeman, Lifeforce) invites his neighbor Jack (Neal Ward) and his wife Lucy (Samantha Lockley) to come have dinner at his house with his wife Cassie (Jennifer K. Preston), and grown children Eric (Lee Hunter) and Lauren (Nadia Lamin), and youngster Ben (Buddy Skelton). Things begin warmly enough with friendly conversation and light-hearted bickering among the children. Later over dinner the mother reveals that her formerly aggressive cancer has now gone into remission, as the family celebrates the oddly behaving Lucy perpetrates a brutal bit of violence upon the mother to the shock and horror of all, except for her husband Jack, who joins his wife by brandishing a shotgun.
Cast: Neal Ward, Samantha Loxley, Frank Jakeman, Nadia Lamin, Lee Hunter, Jennifer Preston, Buddy Skelton
On the night of Christmas Eve Michael (Frank Jakeman, Lifeforce) invites his neighbor Jack (Neal Ward) and his wife Lucy (Samantha Lockley) to come have dinner at his house with his wife Cassie (Jennifer K. Preston), and grown children Eric (Lee Hunter) and Lauren (Nadia Lamin), and youngster Ben (Buddy Skelton). Things begin warmly enough with friendly conversation and light-hearted bickering among the children. Later over dinner the mother reveals that her formerly aggressive cancer has now gone into remission, as the family celebrates the oddly behaving Lucy perpetrates a brutal bit of violence upon the mother to the shock and horror of all, except for her husband Jack, who joins his wife by brandishing a shotgun.
Unbeknownst to Michael and his family earlier in the evening both Michael and Lucy were unwillingly inhabited by the mysterious evil-entities that would end up ruining dinner. With faintly glowing eyes the possessed couple set about restraining each of the family members and torturing them, putting them through the wringer emotionally and physically, exposing long kept family secrets and seemingly intent on exploring the human condition through torturous acts that threaten to destroy the close-knit family from within long before they die or become possessed by the entities.
Hosts (2020) is a low-budget flick but you wouldn't know it by watching it other than it's kept to a mostly single house location, it's a well-lensed and stylish flick that comes off a bit like the home invasion thriller The Strangers (2008) by way of demon-possession flick Demons 2 (1987), but not nearly as gory as the latter, but it certainly has it's moments. Set in a confined space it is tense and claustrophobic, with bits of nerve-shredding violence, the first bit of which is so jaw-dropping that I actually stopped the DVD and started it over again, it totally caught me off guard.
I won't go onto spoil any more of this because I feel like this has the potential to be a significant discovery for those who like me did not know anything about it before viewing it, I was quite impressed by the potency of the movie. The cast is uniformly great and sell the tension and emotion of the nightmare scenario, and even even though I think the set-up and start of the film is superior to finale I never checked out, I was in it from the beginning and gripping the arm of the couch right on though to the end.
Audio/Video: Hosts (2020) arrives on anamorphic DVD from Dark Sky Films framed in 2.39:1 widescreen with both 2.0 and 5.1 English Dolby Digital audio. The flick looks great in standar d definition, but I do hope they, or someone, upgrade this to Blu-ray at some point because it's a sharp-looking film. Audio is clean and well-balanced, the surround mix has a decently immersive experience that help up the creep factor a little bit, optional English subtitles are included.
Extras are plentiful when compared to other recent Dark Sky releases, we get a nearly hour-long making of doc that has plenty of humor and cool behind-the-scenes footage, plus about thirteen minutes of interviews with the cast and crew, in addition to a trailer for the film and a selection of trailers from the distributor. The single-disc release arrives in a clear keepcase with a one-sided sleeve of artwork which is also mirrored on the disc inside.
Special Features:
- Behind the Scenes (59 min)
- Interviews (13 min)
- Trailer (2 min)
Hosts (2020) was a fantastic watch, I was in it from the beginning and still gripping the arm of the couch right on though to the end, highly recommended. This is one of my favorite discoveries of 2020 so far, and sure to be a new annual Christmas terror re-watch for me!
More screenshots from the Dark Sky Films DVD:
