Host (2020)

Haley and her friends gather for a Zoom call during the COVID-19 lockdown. Alcohol is definitely involved but this call is a little special. With the help of a medium they are going to attempt a seance through the Zoom call. They don’t take it seriously from the beginning which brings the attention of a very angry entity. 

The plot is standard for ghost stories like this yet the Zoom interface and multiple cameras added a new way for the haunting to be presented. The initial setup of characters and items that will be used later on felt right to get an understanding of who these characters are and their basic personalities for the purpose of the film. The runtime is shorter at just under an hour but the story progresses well without feeling rushed so this runtime felt just right. The characters did not stand out in the way of new character types, just a bunch of friends getting together but they stood out in their reactions once it’s obvious this isn’t a fun night and all felt real in their reactions to what they witnessed.

The haunting starts mild but very quickly intensifies. They play with some classic tropes and even bend some a little to make this entity especially threatening. The idea that digital media seemed to not see the entity unless it chose, yet the physical media of a photograph was more reliable to see this thing was a fun touch that indicated the entity was using zoom and technology to affect the world. As the haunting gets ever more violent the isolation they have comes to the fore. Since only a couple of the characters live with someone else the Zoom call becomes their only connection to each other. 

The Zoom interface was recreated and used throughout the film instead of just an aesthetic. The chat notification and other interface features displayed on screen were used effectively for immersion as if you are a member of the call. Cameras have varying quality levels and the use of a video call bringing up a full screen of someone speaking helped the filmmakers bring forward important sequences while letting the more subtle scares happen during the wider shots of all characters. Even the filter and chroma keying systems were in use to great effect. Audio mostly was good and used to build atmosphere with the standard glitches you would get in any video conference call. At times though the conversations would be a bit difficult to hear even with the volume up, this wasn’t prevalent, but there were a couple spots where voices overlapped too much during important dialogue which made it hard to understand.

Host has some great scares that are familiar but have that technological twist because of the visual format. Minor technical hiccups like mentioned above do nothing to hamper the film. Set up a watch party for the full experience and be sure not to joke about with the unknown while you do so.

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