Host: Chiamata mortale

I'm no great fan of horror, but I had seen several of the director's short films, including the 2 minute video that led to this one, so I got a trial on the horror channel just to watch this. I've also only used Zoom once, and rarely use video during conference calls, so in that sense I am not quite target audience for this. Despite this it worked very well. The plot sees a group of friends all stuck in their various homes, using Zoom to get together and do a virtual séance for a bit of fun. Sticking with the Zoom format in a sort of 'found-footage' approach for the modern age, it follows the séance as it 'goes wrong'.

At a tight 60 minutes running time, the film doesn't waste a lot of time, but opens nicely so that we are in familiar territory - the technical issues, the glitches, the slightly forced air of 'fun', the people who put in too much effort, and the people who are showing off a bit too obviously. Whether you find that engaging or annoying, it is certainly convincing. From here we move into the bangs and odd occurrences, and things escalate quickly. The cast do a lot of good work in convincing of their fear - and given that mostly we are focused on faces looking at screens, it is an important factor. Mostly the scares are jump scares, but the consistency of them does create its own mood and tension. It is very much a genre piece, with Blair Witch, (Rec.), and endless other horrors in its construct - rather than seem derivative though, it manages to feel like it is drawing on the past to inform the current; it may not date well, but certainly for the current time the use of lockdown, isolations, Zoom chats etc, it does fit and works well.

Best watched like you're on the call - on a laptop in a darkened room.

First of all, the reviewer who stated this movie is formulaic needs to learn the definition. I know what they are trying to say, but that isn't the correct word.

I enjoyed this movie, it was intense without music or an abundance of sound effects and the acting was very good.

Rob Savage's 'Host' plays out like the greatest hits of found footage. It takes the scariest elements of genre favorites like 'The Blair Witch Project' (1999) and 'Paranormal Activity' (2007) and delivers a shock every few minutes. It is edited, crafted, and scripted well. The relaxed, naturalistic performances from the actors immediately create a sense of believability that helps when things start getting scary. A deceptively simple yet downright terrifying thrill ride.

Definitely got my heart racing, although I did watch it in the dark, behind the computer and by myself :') I assume it's low budget, but it was scarier than most horror movies out there. Aside from some silly details (, like why would you bring your computer/phone with you if none of the others in the call are watching), it was very realistic. One of the few downsides is that it is relatively predictable (, but nowadays that's unfortunately common in horror).

One of its main plusses is the script and acting: the conversations are very much like I speak with my friends and there are hardly any dumb lines that can ruin the experience. They also behave in different ways that make sense if you're scared out of your mind.

Also a big plus is that it doesn't try to (over)explain what is happening: it simply is scary and claustrophobic. And last but not least, it's a short movie with good pacing. They refrained from using fillers just to make it one and a half hours long, but chose quality over quantity. If you're a fan of horror, I definitely recommend this hidden gem.

REVIEW - HOST

As we all know over the past 4 months there have been very few new films because of the pandemic, which in a strange way actually made this film even more enjoyable.

Filmed during lock down and referring to the situation around the current pandemic a shot UK film was released that probably no one has heard of.

A group of teens do an online Zoom session with a medium to try and see what would happen, of course things go wrong when one of them doesn't take it seriously and summons........

Small budget, but hugely enjoyable and even actually made me jump in one place!

Definitely one to watch but just a word of caution, don't watch it on a windy night and leave your Windows open so your doors move on their own, spooky.

Rating 7 out of 10