Sick Product of a Sick System

A Disappointing Continuation

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

The Perfect Host is a great showcase of a thriller/suspense. Being held captive is bad enough, but to be treated as Taylor was must make it 10x worse. There are a few flaws but none too bad that you can't look past. One being: how did he hurt his foot? This is the question most are dwelling over, hut it is simple, he is a criminal on the run, and he easily could've been shot, or tripped over some barbed-wire. Nothing too hard to comprehend. A teeth-clenching finale shows how corrupt people may be, as well as how delusional one man can become after years and years of loneliness. It was a sad moment when Warrick stood back up after being "stabbed" with his fake knife. I was actually rooting for John to leave, at least somewhat, unscathed, but anger and aggression took him over. The ending would've never happened if Warrick hadn't had knives and swords hanging on his wall. The other most seen question, or complaint, is: How convenient is it that Warrick just so happened to be a policeman? The answer is quite simple: John Taylor's arrival to Warrick's home was a planned event. It wasn't just chance that he stumbled upon an unwillingly friendly samaritan who turned out to be an undercover cop. He was followed, tracked, and almost forced to go to Warrick's.

Sometimes, low budget films with few locations and lesser-known actors are sent to B-movie oblivion - many in fact. However, I'm pleased to say that this isn't one of them.Sure, it doesn't have much action, it's only really filmed in one (major) location and (unless you used to watch Frasier) you probably won't recognise too many of the cast. It's even got a couple of questionable plot holes, but the fact it, the film was just too damn enjoyable to let any of that bother me.Just like the big-screen adaptation of 'American Psycho's' success was down to Christian Bale's excellent (and psychotic) performance, 'The Perfect Host's' charm is completely down to David Hyde Pierce's character. You can tell he's clearly loving doing what he's doing... and it shows.I won't go into too much detail about the plot, but it may just put you off dinner parties for life. It's a cheap, but enjoyable little black comedy/thriller/horror. It'll never compete with the Avengers or Avatar, but it is good fun if you have a black sense of humour.http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/

The concept is really nice for a creepy story, though it's built on a common basic premise of cops and robbers. The movie gets a bit slowed down on the nut-house world of the host a bit too long. I see that the creators are trying to set those scenes as the focus, but those long duration, and the quite scary images of the last 'guests' that should be disturbing loses their influence when just about half the duration, they turn out to be fake and makeup. Frankly, for me those turns out the mood of the movie from scary to something off. But the twists on the chess play and the robbery plot is nice mix to the whole story, and also the possibility of another twisted 'party' on the ending lifts up the mood of being a scary flick. The acting is a bit below average, though just as expected. A 5 out of 10 score is from me.

The plot is intriguing and with several unexpected twists, but e.g. the circumstances of John's getting into Warwick's house, and Warwick's real nature and background are unlikely - mildly speaking. However, everything is giftedly performed and the scene related to a mask made me giggle. David Hyde Pierce as Warwick Wilson and Clayne Crawford as John Taylor are equal to the task - both of the actors could be used more often in bearing roles. The other characters are more sketchy and ordinary, but do not diminish the value of the movie. The very ending is nicely left "open", for the viewers to guess what happens after the appearance of credits. The Perfect Host is a pleasant, not protracted dark comedy / thriller, preferably to be watched in a company of like-minded.