Directed by Rob Savage
Written by Rob Savage, Gemma Hurley and Jed Shepherd
Starring Haley Bishop, Jemma Moore and Emma Louise Webb
Running time: just under an hour

by Emily Maesar

What might movies, especially horror movies, look like during and post the pandemic? If it’s anything like Host, then I’m here for it.

Clocking in at just under an hour, Rob Savage’s Host is a film about six friends who decide to perform a seance over Zoom during quarantine. Which… sounds like a horrible fucking idea. It also sounds like the opposite of what I want to be watching, being that we’re still currently living in lockdown and it feels like a nightmare. But maybe that’s what makes a horror quarantine film work.

There’s been a running “joke” people have had on Twitter about how many COVID-19 scripts and stories are going to come out of all of this. Which I don’t think is that bonkers of a thought, since it’s consumed every person’s day-to-day life. And “write what you know” is a trite (but often true) piece of writing advice that I imagine will be a big contributing factor to this.

The thought of even a single script set during quarantine, especially shot during it, sends a chill down my spine, but maybe that’s just me. However, Savage has managed to do something I thought was impossible until I saw it with my own eyes and processed it with my own brain. He and his friends managed to write, direct, shoot, and edit a properly great film that is not only set during quar (it’s literally on Zoom for a reason), but have shot it under proper social distancing mandates. Also… did I mention that it’s good, because I’m as shocked as you are.

It’s not as though films haven’t been made like this before, though, where the entire action takes place fully on screens. Lots of horror films, even, have utilized this. But there’s something so specific about Savage’s film that makes it work in ways that those maybe haven’t. I’m not sure if it’s that so many of the effects and scares in Host are practical and done by the actors themselves (which is beyond charming and makes me love them even more), or if it’s just that quarantine gives it more of a reason to exist the way that it does. Whatever the reason, this flick just really works for me and I’m sure it’ll work for lots of other people too.

I also think it’s quite remarkable how Savage is able to really use Zoom, the constant pervasiveness of it, through pop ups, filters, and backgrounds to fill out the frame of the film. And then to use those elements for horror, either because they reveal something horrifying (face filters will never be the same, thanks!), or because it cuts us off from our characters during important moments. He uses the familiarity we all now have with Zoom, whether we like it or not, to bring his horror to life in a truly grounded way.

So, Rob Savage hadn’t been on my radar, but he is now. His short film Dawn of the Deaf made the rounds at film festivals mostly in 2016 (and is available free on Vimeo). It was even a darling outside of genre specific fests and given my feelings on Host… it’s the next thing I’m putting my eyes on.

And just for the record, I wasn’t joking when I said that if quarantine films look or feel like Host going forward, then I’d be happy. This film is a hopeful look at the future of filmmaking while keeping us all safe, and I think that’s remarkable. Plus, it’s really fucking good on top of that? Host is a knockout and I can’t wait to talk to everybody about it.

Available to watch now on Shudder.