📖 Synopsis

Host centers on a group of friends who decide to hold a virtual séance over Zoom during the COVID-19 lockdown. Their friends accidentally summon a demonic presence whilst having fun which, as they find out, is truly horrifying. They start getting haunted and frightful nightmares come to life, and the friends discover that they are stuck behind their screens.

🏆 Awards & Wins

• FrighFest 2020: Best Feature Award
• British Independent Film Festival (BIFA): Best Effects Nominee
• Empire Awards: Best Horror Movie winner of 2020

Host is much praised because of the originality of the story line. It was shot with a small budget, and it’s length is short which only adds to the list of reasons why it is much acclaimed.

🎭 Cast & Crew

• Haley: Haley Bishop
• Jemma: Jemma Moore
• Emma: Emma Louise Webb
• Radina: Radina Drandova
• Caroline Ward: Caroline
• Teddy: Edward Linard
• Director: Rob Savage
• Writers: Rob Savage, Gemma Hurley, Jed Shepherd

The filmmakers intended for the audience to feel the realism and immersion of the film and using the cast members’ real names achieved that.

⭐ IMDb Ratings & Critical Reception

We have rated an 6.5 out of 10 Host Users and 7 out of 10 Audience users in IMDb.

Critics gave a score of 99% while Medium gave it a score of 73%. 🍅

The Host’s creativity, scares, and eerie creativity with Zoom as a horror medium was praised among many audiences and critics. Some compared it to Paranormal Activity for its found-footage style, but more important, they said, was the pandemic setting.

🎬 Personal Insights

Host is a genre-defining new take on the remote horror movie. Using only Zoom and cleverly edited footage, sound bites as well as real time actor reactions, the movie captures an overwhelming pulse of dread. It leans into collective fears of solitude and the unknown, making it an exceptional phobia-inducing horror flick.

The film’s success speaks in support of how horror can adapt to newer ways of telling stories. Unlike the common house of spirits movies, Host plays on the idea that technology can be a medium for the supernatural and paranormal, which is chilling.

📌 Cultural Significance

As one of the major horror films influenced by the pandemic, Host captures lockdown life perfectly with social zoom sessions, distancing and the consuming dread of being stuck at home.The film also exemplifies the strength of indie horror and how creativity rather than budget is what makes a horror film successful.

🎥 Final Verdict: Watch or Skip?

✅ Watch if you enjoy psychological horror, found-footage films, and innovative straightforward thrillers.

❌ Skip if you dislike new age horror storytelling and the use of technology.