A Perfect Host (2020) by Chad Werner

Director: Chad Werner
Year: 2020
Country: USA
Alternate Titles:
Genre: Suspense/Thriller

Plot:
Arriving at a remote cabin, a man and his girlfriend attempting to have a relaxing getaway vacation find the psychotic owner they're renting from is an unhinged lunatic who has darker motivations for them being there and must try to get away from the area alive.

Review:

This one proved to have its moments when it tried. The very nature of the premise here, where his deranged single-minded determination to impose his philosophies on them or just simply making them feel at unease due to bizarre behavioral changes or person flips generates some great tension here. As these escalate into the gradual realization and unraveling of his plan, the action ramps up nicely here with a fun series of chases and encounters around the house that offers the dark reveal of the flashback sequences to their friends journeying to the lake before them but carries out into the enjoyable conclusion that has a lot to like. These here are what tends to work for the film.

This one does have some problems. That it takes so long to get going, being filled with mind-numbing banter about their relationship and the two staying there alone becomes just incessantly boring to get through. Their relationship doesn't generate the kind of sympathetic nature this is going for with the forced drama and bad accents for inside jokes the film is going for, making these scenes and the carryover between the encounters generally pretty bland. As well, the film seems intent on trotting out tons of twists in the finale simply to get to a somewhat respectable running time which causes this to feel like it's going on top long simply for no reason than to pad out the running length even though this is still quite too quick. These here are the main issues.

Overview: **.5/5
A generally enjoyable thriller that manages to feature enough to like about it that there's enough to hold off the few minor flaws present here. Give this a shot if you're intrigued or generally appreciative or indie thrillers while those that aren't into the genre or find the flaws here somewhat off-putting should heed extreme caution.