Host (film)
A Zoom séance summons a demon during lockdown.
Host, a 2020 British independent supernatural horror film, was directed by Rob Savage and co-written with Gemma Hurley and Jed Shepherd. Unfolding entirely on a Zoom call, it follows friends who accidentally summon a demon during an online séance. Filmed over twelve weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic using Zoom software, the cast managed their own cameras, sound, makeup, lighting, and stunts.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Rob Savage
- Writer
- Jed Shepherd
- Gemma Hurley
- Rob Savage
- Producer
- Douglas Cox
- Craig Engler
- Emily Gotto
- Samuel Zimmerman
- Starring
- Haley Bishop
- Radina Drandova
- Jemma Moore
- Caroline Ward
- Emma Webb
- Edward Linard
- Editing
- Brenna Rangott
- Studio
- Shadowhouse Films; BOO-URNS
- Distributor
- Shudder; Vertigo Releasing
- Released
- 30 July 2020, Shudder, 4 December 2020, United Kingdom
Facts from the source article.
Plot
In July 2020, during a COVID-19 lockdown in London, a group of friends—Haley, Jemma, Radina, Emma, Caroline, and Teddy—log into their usual weekly Zoom call. Haley has set up a virtual séance with a medium named Seylan, who warns everyone not to mock the spirits, though only Haley and Caroline take the warning seriously. Teddy is booted from the call when his girlfriend Jinny cuts his connection. Jemma then claims she feels a strong tightening around her neck and starts crying, saying she senses a school friend who died by hanging. Seylan’s internet drops, and Jemma laughs, admitting she made the whole thing up because she was bored. Haley gets angry. As they argue, Haley’s chair is yanked across the room, shocking everyone. Strange events follow: Caroline sees the legs of a hanging corpse in her attic; Haley’s instant camera captures a similar figure dangling from her ceiling; and Emma’s wine glass shatters on its own. Haley reaches Seylan again, who explains that Jemma’s fake story about a dead person might have let a demon wear that identity like a mask, slipping into the real world. Seylan tells them to end the séance, but the demon cuts her off. The group tries to close the circle on their own. When things seem calm, Caroline is suddenly thrown into her camera. Emma, forgetting to turn off a filter, points her camera at her living room; the filter puts a mask on an invisible shape that turns to look at her. She pours flour on the floor, and footprints appear, moving toward her. She is attacked but escapes to her bedroom. Alan’s body drops behind Radina; she runs but is killed. Caroline’s camera comes back on, showing the demon bashing her head into her keyboard as she begs for help, then the feed cuts out.
Production
The film traces back to a prank video created by Savage in early 2020, featuring him investigating strange sounds in his attic while on a group video chat with some of the later cast members. The participants were unaware the video led to a jump scare of a zombie child, created by splicing a clip from the Spanish horror film Rec (2007) with footage of Savage climbing to the attic and falling down after the zombie attacks him. The video went viral, and Savage found the format easy to watch, applying it to a feature-length film. Producers contacted him about making a longer film after seeing the viral video. Host was filmed during COVID-19 quarantine restrictions; Savage directed the actors remotely while they handled their own cameras, lighting, sound, makeup, and stunts. Fishing wire was sent to actors' homes so they could practice pulling things off shelves. Practical effects were handled by the actors, and a virtual workshop taught how to set up effects like moving doors and making things fly off shelves. The film took 12 weeks from initial idea to delivery to Shudder. According to star Jemma Moore, the actors used a film treatment rather than a finished screenplay, improvising and taking live feedback from Savage during takes. The cast participated in a séance over Zoom prior to filming to encourage authentic responses, and actors were only given details of their own characters, with the fates of others withheld. Savage and Shepherd cited influences including The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity, Lake Mungo, and Ghostwatch.
Reception
Made for just $100,000, Host went on to earn $443,807 globally. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a positive score from 98 reviews, with critics calling it "lean, suspenseful, and scary" and a "nastily effective treat." Metacritic gave it a 73 out of 100, meaning generally favorable reviews. Much of the praise focused on how the movie explores social separation and anxiety. The New York Times and Rue Morgue both compared it to the 2014 horror film Unfriended, which also uses a group video chat for supernatural scares. Time magazine listed Host among the "17 Great Movies You May Have Missed This Summer," describing it as not just one of the year's best horror films but also an intimate look at creativity and filmmaking during a pandemic. Writing for The Atlantic, Elizabeth Horkley called it "the first great entry in the new genre of 'quarantine horror,'" noting its fresh take on lockdown-induced paranoia.
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