Stream Bloody Murder #1: Host

Stream Bloody Murder #1

Movie of the week: Host

Streaming platform: Shudder

            Hello and welcome to a new weekly feature for October Chills. As the summer starts to wind down and the specter of Autumn and Halloween start to creep over the horizon, we know many are excited for the season to arrive. Well, as much of a season as we are going to be able to have. Thanks, COVID. As October draws closer, we know more people will be looking for films to watch to get themselves into the spirit. This series is designed to highlight a film weekly with the only rule being that it must be available on a streaming platform. It can be a classic film that we’ve seen dozens of times before, or a new film that is getting its first watch. Our hope is to provide a brief overview of the film while giving a recommendation on who we think will enjoy the film the most.

            We debut this week with Shudder’s Host, a film that has been seeing some talk due to it being filmed during quarantine. Taking place over the duration of a Zoom call, the movie follows a group of friends that decide to spice things up for their call by having a séance. As expected, things go horribly wrong and a vengeful spirit decides to go on a killing spree that has been aided by technology. Coming in at under an hour long, this film feels like the Unfriended films, just done better. The film is helped heavily by the runtime being so short, as it must pack its scares and plotline into a smaller frame and manages to do it in an entertaining way. Host manages to build tension well throughout the movie, and does have some good jumpscares, with the last one in particular being incredibly effective. The plot is rather simple, requiring characters to at times be incredibly stupid to advance the story, however there are some moments where characters show some smart thinking which is always nice to see. The plot also goes pretty much as expected as well, with no real shocks and following the expectations of how a found footage movie will play out. Overall though, we enjoyed our time with it, as it is a nice quick shot of adrenaline to end the night on, and it is worthy of some praise just for pulling it off during the quarantine.

Recommended for those whose enjoy the found footage genre, as well as those who are looking for a quick horror fix for the night.

Not for those who find jumpscares and the found footage played out.