{"id":114539,"date":"2020-08-11T18:26:53","date_gmt":"2020-08-11T17:26:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/?p=114539"},"modified":"2020-08-11T18:26:53","modified_gmt":"2020-08-11T17:26:53","slug":"host-review-dont-stayathome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/tv\/host-review-dont-stayathome\/","title":{"rendered":"Host Review: [Don\u2019t] #stayathome"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before Host<\/strong><\/em>, we thought the scariest thing about Zoom was the social awkwardness but it turns out there are far more sinister things lurking behind you on a video call than the dirty clothes you\u2019ve hastily hidden out of shot.<\/p>\n

A Shudder Original, Host<\/strong><\/em> follows six friends who \u2013 wanting to do something a little different on their Zoom meet-up \u2013 decide to hold a virtual s\u00e9ance. Calling in the help of a professional spiritualist, what starts off as a laugh (and an excuse to drink \u2013 we\u2019ve all been there) during lockdown rapidly turns into something a lot more frightening when they start to sense something is not quite right in their respective houses.<\/p>\n

Though just 57 minutes long (still shorter than the weekly family pub quiz), Host<\/strong><\/em> takes its time to introduce each character and group dynamic, allowing audiences a chance to settle down before getting down to creepy business. Which is does to great effect. Following along the lines of a found footage movie, Host<\/strong><\/em> has plenty of jump scares, unexplained noises and out-of-shot scares to keep the tension high. You\u2019ll soon find yourself hastily scanning each individual Zoom panel through your fingers to try and prepare yourself for what might come next. The welcoming surprise is that you probably won\u2019t be prepared at all.<\/p>\n

Filmed entirely during lockdown, the actors operated their own cameras and helped pull off their own practical effects. Speaking of effects, they are great by the way \u2013 from intricate shots of footsteps appearing in flour on the floor (though we may have winced more at the waste of flour than of the invisible spectre stepping through it) to the use of Zoom\u2019s simple backgrounds, each available effect is fully utilised to deliver the thrills and keep you on high alert.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a true testament to everyone involved that this a really compelling horror film. To be able to accomplish such a feat on a low budget and without even being able to be in the same room as each other is bewildering. Virtual meet-ups is the \u2018new normal\u2019 and the movie uses that to its advantage, pulling audiences in from their very houses to a scarier place than the outside world is right now.<\/p>\n

If anyone is having strange pandemic-related quaran-dreams right now, Host<\/strong><\/em> will not help\u2026<\/p>\n

Host is available now on Shudder<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Be prepared to step away from the laptop with Shudder Original’s Zoom-based horror Host.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":114543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"quote","meta":{"MSN_Categories":"Uncategorized","MSN_Publish_Option":false,"MSN_Is_Local_News":false,"MSN_Is_AIAC_Included":"Empty","MSN_Location":"[]","MSN_Add_Feature_Img_On_Top_Of_Post":false,"MSN_Has_Custom_Author":false,"MSN_Custom_Author":"","MSN_Has_Custom_Canonical_Url":false,"MSN_Custom_Canonical_Url":""},"categories":[8,207],"tags":[6926],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Screenshot-2020-07-28-at-22.17.51.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114539"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}