The Perfect Host (2011)

The Perfect Host Review
Review # 143

1.5/5 stars

Director - Nick Tomnay

Cast - David Hyde Pierce, Clayne Crawford, Nathaniel Parker, Helen Reddy, Megahn Perry, Joseph Will

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The Perfect Host is a fairly low-budget thriller/horror film, starring David Hyde Pierce as Warwick, a seemingly mild-mannered man who finds himself unwilling host to John, (played by Clayne Crawford), a young man who is on the run from a bank heist. Things take a turn for the worse for John, as things are wont to do. He quickly comes to realize that this particular choice of refuge was very poorly chosen, as Warwick has…well… issues. In fact, he is a bit of a full-blown psycho.

I don’t think it ruins the movie to reveal that, as we learn this very early on. In fact, this is just the first of many twists. Many, many twists. Too many. So despite a good start, good performances, and the intriguing idea at its core, this movie becomes irredeemably muddled, confusing, and almost a chore to sit through.

At first, David Hyde Pierce is very, well, David Hyde Pierce, but slides very well into his characters dark side. There are many downsides to having a much-loved character on a long running TV show, and of course association with that role is one of them. Thus, I could not help but see Frasier‘s little brother Niles pop in and out occasionally, but that stops quite quickly when he starts bashing John over the head with things. We can appreciate this nice bit of anti-casting, as Warwick is anything but a shy milquetoast. The problem, however, is that while the characters are performed well, they’re all wrong. Just plain wrong. We don’t care about any of them, and once the multiple twists keep on coming and character motivations are revealed (often revealed but never explained), we just don’t give a damn any more. While some movie can make unlovable characters work, this one doesn’t even try.

The Perfect Host is essentially torture porn that tries to substitute a fun performance from David Hyde Pierce for torture, but then castrates the character with one strange move after another. The final act is unbelievably bad, with no focus, no point, and no sense of what the hell the movie should be. I have never wanted to yell at the screen quite like this before. With a great third act this could have been a decent movie. An early trailer promised a movie with a clear identity and a simple story, but oh no. Bring on the pointless twists! They work so well for M. Night, right?

OVERALL

Despite a decent first act, The Perfect Host is a horrible mess that makes itself worse as it goes along. The actors work is done well, but the script is all over the place. I was intrigued by the movies awesome trailer, but don’t waste your time on this movie folks. Not even David Hyde Pierce can save it. It is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Look, it even made me quote Shakespeare in a movie review. How’s that for pretentiousness, eh?

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TRAILER

“The Perfect Host” on other websites:

IMDB —– Rotten Tomatoes —– Wikipedia

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