Once-Upon-A-Time-I-Digress
Joined Jul 2015
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Once-Upon-A-Time-I-Digress's rating
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Once-Upon-A-Time-I-Digress's rating
The Guest (2014)
A family whose son died in combat are visited by one of his former comrades.
The Guest is a ludicrous and funny thriller, with stand-out performances from Dan Stevens, Maika Monroe and Leland Orcer, who almost steals the show as the affable, alcoholic father. It has a dreamy synth-heavy soundtrack, reminiscent of both the 80's thrillers the film takes it's cues from and also Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive (2011).
Adam Wingard paces the whole film tightly as possible, and even as the film goes into truly bonkers territory in it's third act, it never loses sharpness.
My problem with The Guest is it sticks too rigorously to pastiche, when there's the makings of a film that could merely begin that way and transcend formula. The cast all are all perfectly in tune with the joke, the action sequences are exciting and brutal, the script has some hilariously dark and twisted turns, and yet it fails to subvert several genre tropes; the bullied kid at school, the stoners and a fair amount of dialogue all seem lifted from the films it sends up instead of parodied. The first half of The Guest promises a film that will surprise you, the second half slips back into a deadpan reheat. It's a shame, because everyone involved would be more than capable of pulling off something much more adventurous.
***
A creepy treat which falls just short of delivering something more than a send-up.
A family whose son died in combat are visited by one of his former comrades.
The Guest is a ludicrous and funny thriller, with stand-out performances from Dan Stevens, Maika Monroe and Leland Orcer, who almost steals the show as the affable, alcoholic father. It has a dreamy synth-heavy soundtrack, reminiscent of both the 80's thrillers the film takes it's cues from and also Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive (2011).
Adam Wingard paces the whole film tightly as possible, and even as the film goes into truly bonkers territory in it's third act, it never loses sharpness.
My problem with The Guest is it sticks too rigorously to pastiche, when there's the makings of a film that could merely begin that way and transcend formula. The cast all are all perfectly in tune with the joke, the action sequences are exciting and brutal, the script has some hilariously dark and twisted turns, and yet it fails to subvert several genre tropes; the bullied kid at school, the stoners and a fair amount of dialogue all seem lifted from the films it sends up instead of parodied. The first half of The Guest promises a film that will surprise you, the second half slips back into a deadpan reheat. It's a shame, because everyone involved would be more than capable of pulling off something much more adventurous.
***
A creepy treat which falls just short of delivering something more than a send-up.
Duel (1971)
A traveling salesman is hounded by a mysterious maniac driving a truck.
Duel opens with a series of bumper level driving shots, accompanied by the tidal ebb and roar of the road. With no human diversion other than the radio, this is an eerie mix, transforming the banality of traffic on the highway into an intimidating, almost alien domain. "Talk about pollution" says our hero, David Mann (Dennis Weaver) when he first encounters the monstrous truck; gushing out smoke, strung with multiple license plates which, according to Spielberg, are trophies looted from previous victims. The driver of the truck is never fully seen (he was 'played' by legendary stunt car driver Carey Loftin), so the on-screen menace is left to the vehicle itself. And it looks mean as hell; more rust than metal, like a junkyard escapee or a steampunk Goliath. It makes a strong case for the scariest villains being the faceless, the unknown, those who won't respond to reason. In a later moment, as the truck curves round a country road, it's grey bulk seems to have all the mercilessness of a closing shark.
"I gave you the road, why don't you take it?" asks Mann, before being driven into a fence by the truck. Weaver does a great job conveying Mann's initial incredulity turning to panic and subsequently his decisions to overtake or double back largely without the use of speech. These are the strongest moments of the film; where decisions on Mann's part (just like his adversary) are not prompted by speech or narration, which softens the isolation of Mann's situation. The other thing the film could have benefited from is the development of an early scene with Mann phoning his wife. His wife complains that he didn't intervene the previous night when someone was 'practically trying to rape' her. Although this scene was filmed as an extension of the original TV cut, it still would have been interesting to explore the of lack of communication with his wife, against his inability to communicate with the truck.
But motive and back story are things Duel avoids in favour of tightness. Spielberg mostly sticks to the road, raising paranoia by frequently keeping Mann's mirrors in shot to have a frame within a frame effect, ensuring the audience always keeps one eye out for the return of the truck.
The truck is a villain that psychologically goads it's victim with sheer size. In one sequence (also filmed after the original cut) Mann tries to help a broken down school bus. He fails, and spots the truck reappearing. But instead of running him down the truck driver helps the school bus on its way, in order to continue it's tormenting of it's victim. It's a superb sequence which frighteningly portrays the level of power the truck has over Mann.
****
A terrific ninety minute car chase that benefits from never changing gears.
A traveling salesman is hounded by a mysterious maniac driving a truck.
Duel opens with a series of bumper level driving shots, accompanied by the tidal ebb and roar of the road. With no human diversion other than the radio, this is an eerie mix, transforming the banality of traffic on the highway into an intimidating, almost alien domain. "Talk about pollution" says our hero, David Mann (Dennis Weaver) when he first encounters the monstrous truck; gushing out smoke, strung with multiple license plates which, according to Spielberg, are trophies looted from previous victims. The driver of the truck is never fully seen (he was 'played' by legendary stunt car driver Carey Loftin), so the on-screen menace is left to the vehicle itself. And it looks mean as hell; more rust than metal, like a junkyard escapee or a steampunk Goliath. It makes a strong case for the scariest villains being the faceless, the unknown, those who won't respond to reason. In a later moment, as the truck curves round a country road, it's grey bulk seems to have all the mercilessness of a closing shark.
"I gave you the road, why don't you take it?" asks Mann, before being driven into a fence by the truck. Weaver does a great job conveying Mann's initial incredulity turning to panic and subsequently his decisions to overtake or double back largely without the use of speech. These are the strongest moments of the film; where decisions on Mann's part (just like his adversary) are not prompted by speech or narration, which softens the isolation of Mann's situation. The other thing the film could have benefited from is the development of an early scene with Mann phoning his wife. His wife complains that he didn't intervene the previous night when someone was 'practically trying to rape' her. Although this scene was filmed as an extension of the original TV cut, it still would have been interesting to explore the of lack of communication with his wife, against his inability to communicate with the truck.
But motive and back story are things Duel avoids in favour of tightness. Spielberg mostly sticks to the road, raising paranoia by frequently keeping Mann's mirrors in shot to have a frame within a frame effect, ensuring the audience always keeps one eye out for the return of the truck.
The truck is a villain that psychologically goads it's victim with sheer size. In one sequence (also filmed after the original cut) Mann tries to help a broken down school bus. He fails, and spots the truck reappearing. But instead of running him down the truck driver helps the school bus on its way, in order to continue it's tormenting of it's victim. It's a superb sequence which frighteningly portrays the level of power the truck has over Mann.
****
A terrific ninety minute car chase that benefits from never changing gears.
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