After having a great deal of twisted fun with the horror genre in You’re Next, writer Simon Barrett and director Adam Wingard team up once again for the psychological thriller, The Guest. An homage to the thrillers of the 1980s, the film stars Dan Stevens as David Collins, a recently discharged soldier who takes it upon himself to visit the family of Caleb, one of his fellow soldiers who was killed in combat.
Caleb’s family is still grieving his loss, but when David shows up, he helps to assuage their pain and sadness while becoming the best houseguest anyone could hope to have. Caleb’s siblings, Anna and Luke, are initially hesitant about letting David stay, but he eventually wins them over. However, when a series of strange events start happening around town, it slowly becomes apparent that David may not be the man he claims he is.
Talking with Simon and Adam at the film’s recent press day was very enjoyable, as they spoke about how The Guest was inspired by a double feature of Halloween and The Terminator, how Stevens created such a charismatic character in David, how the movie deals subversively with what war veterans have suffered, and of how Steve Moore’s music is meant to emulate those scary electronic film scores from the 80’s.
Check it all out in the video above and be sure to catch The Guest when it opens in theatres on September 17th!