If you’re filmmaker Adam Wingard or actors Dan Stevens or Maika Monroe, you’re having a pretty good year. Wingard’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire became the highest-grossing Godzilla movie of all time, Stevens starred in genre hits Abigail and Cuckoo (in addition to Godzilla x Kong), and Monroe starred in Longlegs, which has become one of the most talked-about horror movies of the year. This year also marks the tenth anniversary of The Guest, directed by Wingard and starring Stevens and Monroe, which marks ten years of passionate fans asking for another entry in the genre-bending and Halloween-themed adventure.
The Guest follows the mysterious David (Stevens) as he visits the family of a fallen military friend, aiming to offer assistance in a challenging time. David is handsome, charming, and a help around the house, as he manages to even win over even the wary sister Anna (Monroe). Aiming to learn more about him, Anna uncovers some conflicts in David’s story, with her investigation inadvertently kicking off an action-packed confrontation that reveals David’s true nature.
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In 2011, Wingard and writer Simon Barrett unleashed the home-invasion horror movie You’re Next, which injected plenty of laughs into its terror and won over festivalgoers at the Toronto International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest. The movie was purchased by Lionsgate, though as the distributor developed a release strategy, the buzz around You’re Next made it feel like a forgotten masterpiece locked in a vault. It wasn’t until two years later that the movie got a theatrical release, and while it might not have become a blockbuster, it helped build a following for Wingard and Barrett’s unique takes on genre storytelling.
The pair reunited for The Guest, whose festival screenings and (albeit lackluster) theatrical release have earned it 92% positive reviews from critics, according to aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, marking the highest score of their careers. The movie was inspired by Barrett’s background as a private investigator, which saw him uncover all manner of unexpected secrets about clients, as well as Wingard’s random revisiting of the movies Halloween and The Terminator. Its initial, underwhelming release on audiences meant it flew under most viewers’ radars, though anyone who caught the movie on streaming services over the years resulted in it feeling like a true discovery to newcomers.
The Guest has earned acclaim for a variety of reasons, one of which is the charm and charisma of Stevens. His role as Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey earned him fans, but The Guest opened up his talents to an entirely new audience. Monroe managed to capture the sarcasm of a young adult who is doubtful of the strange figure yet who is also drawn to his magnetism, and her role in the horror sensation It Follows within that same year cemented her as an up-and-coming “It Girl” for genre stories. The rest of the cast, which includes Brendan Meyer, Sheila Kelley, Leland Orser, and the late Lance Henriksen, all created the necessary blend of warmth and openness necessary to convey the gravity of the situation thrust upon them.
Much like You’re Next, The Guest manages to tonally and visually dip its toes into a number of genre pools, running the gamut of sci-fi, horror, thriller, action, and comedy from one scene to the next. This is a credit not only to Wingard, Barrett, and the cast’s individual contributions to the project, but also to the alchemy they all created together to help concoct an adventure that both felt familiar for fans of ’80s cinema and also entirely fresh. Additionally, the film’s score was crafted by Steve Moore of the band Zombi, while the soundtrack included music from Clan of Xymox, Gatekeeper, Survive, and Love and Rockets, all of which amplified its throwback tone.
One reason The Guest gains so much attention in October is for how unconventional of a Halloween movie it assuredly is. With the movie being filmed in New Mexico, it doesn’t embrace the traditional iconography of crunchy leaves and grey skies of other Halloween-centric movies, which might be why the filmmakers were so intentional about the way the holiday is integrated into the narrative. When David and Anna attend a party together, it’s a Halloween party with expected decorations and costumes. A key scene sees David carving pumpkins with Luke (Meyer) where David uses his own knife, which he gifts to Luke, only for Luke to use it later in the film. The entire final showdown between David, Anna, and Luke unfolds at a high school decorated for a Halloween dance, which includes fog, strobe lights, and spooky decorations (including oversized decor honoring Halloween III: Season of the Witch).
As if the overall experience isn’t enough to make it a contemporary classic, its Halloween relevance results in annual viewings from fans, which only amplifies the demands for a sequel. Virtually any good movie will see subsets of fans asking for a sequel, while David’s mysterious backstory and The Guest‘s open-ended finale keep the doors open for future adventures either with these characters specifically or just set in this world. Even though Wingard, Barrett, Stevens, and Monroe have all gone on to make multiple other compelling projects, virtually every promotional circuit for a new endeavor results in them being asked about a sequel, as they all tease their interest in such a reunion.
Fan demands for more The Guest might not have all been for naught, though, as the figures involved in the series teased in 2021 and in early 2022 that something was gestating, which led to the debut of The Guest 2 (Original Soundtrack) on April 1, 2022. The album featured music from Wingard, Moore, and various other contributors, with the track titles embracing the overall trajectory of what Wingard and Barrett saw as the next chapter for the saga. Including songs titled “The Guest Returns,” “Grim Showdown,” “Carver’s War Machine,” and “David vs. The Splinters of the Cross,” these narrative teases might be the closest we get to a live-action sequel.
Every year that passes, The Guest finds more fans, and regardless of what projects they move onto, the cast and crew of the film continue to be asked about getting more of this sci-fi world. Luckily, even if we never get more of the movie, getting one such compelling story in the first place is already enough of a win and we’re happy to have such an unlikely project to add to the list of annual Halloween watches.
The Guest is currently available to rent on digital platforms.
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