Dir. Rob Savage | Now Streaming On: Prime | Rating: 1/5

I try to keep my reviews classy – but let me be real with you for a minute. Did they pay the Rotten Tomatoes reviewers? Truly, did they bribe them? ⁠
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Host follows the screenlife or computer screen film format in the footsteps of the widely popular Unfriended. Now, I’m usually a good sport with screenlife horror – it’s a relatively new mode of horror storytelling and needs to grow into itself. Searching (2018) is a pretty well-fleshed out example of this subgenre, if not horror driven specifically. Unfriended: Dark Web single handedly led me to buy webcam covers for all my devices. So believe me when I say, I did try to give Host a fair chance. ⁠
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The gimmick of Host is that it was produced during the height of the first global COVID19 quarantine. All actors used their own devices, did all their own stunts, and the director used live scripting in the actual Zoom meeting. Some reviewers have called this a kind of poignant commentary on how media carried on during the pandemic. When in reality, this plays out like a film student thesis. Honestly, I’ve actually seen film student theses with higher production quality than this. ⁠
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The barebones storyline and two-dimensional characters are squeezed into a 50-minute runtime to mimic the Zoom call timer on unpaid accounts (40 minutes plus 10 free minutes). Why does this film feel more and more like an ad for Zoom as I continue this review?⁠
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This might be fun to watch in a group as a drinking game – in fact, the script actually includes one. Take a shot every time this writing makes you physically cringe. You’ll be wasted when your Zoom timer runs out. ⁠
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Know Before You Watch: Features discussions of suicide, blood, death, flashing lights.