The Perfect Host Review

I have always had a soft spot for great thrillers and its been some time since I have seen a really good one. Frankly the last good one that I can recall watching was Adam Green’s SPIRAL which to put it plainly blew my mind.

Who knew that the same guy behind the mindless splatterfest that was HATCHET had a genius lurking within him. Now before you gore hounds jump all over me that was not a slander against American Horror or Adam Green. Hatchet was a great tribute to classic American Horror but it was not very intelligent and Adam Green’s SPIRAL is the kind of thriller that in a perfect world would win an Oscar.

Today I checked out a really great thriller by director Nick Tomnay starring David Hyde Pierce called ‘The Perfect Host’. For those who are interested in checking it out its currently on NETFLIX. You know that streaming service that is trying really hard to destroy itself by pissing off its customers by the thousands. The Perfect Host is the story of a a criminal on the run who cons his way into the wrong dinner party where the host is anything but ordinary.

David Hyde Pierce for me is best remembered for his role in FRASER and the best comparison of his role in this one is Fraser meets American Psycho. This film is based off a 2001 short film and stars as mentioned David Hyde Pierce and Clayne Crawford as two men who match wills and go head to head in a story of victim and villain with enough twists to keep your brain churning throughout the film.

I have always been a fan of films where characters are more then skin deep and The Perfect Host is just that. There is no set ‘victim’ there is no true ‘villain’ and just when you think you have figured everything out the story throws you on your backside and throws you another twist. The Perfect Host is the perfect tale of the anti-hero and which one is the hero is open for interpretation right up until the end.

What Happens when a man wanted by the law breaks his way into a dinner party hosted by a mild mannered middle aged man? All hell breaks loose as their worlds collide and the rabbit turns out to be the Wolf and the Wolf becomes the entertainment.

The Perfect Host is far from perfect but it is an excellent demonstration of how a film can work with few characters and limited sets. Much like SPIRAL it plays out like a stage play. The Perfect Host demonstrates that its not all about blood and gore and that a well founded script and a great cast can deliver an outstanding film.

If you like films like Adam Green’s SPIRAL, Hitchcock’s REAR WINDOW or Chris Gorak’s Right At Your Door you will absolutely love The Perfect Host. If you are more into the work of Eli Roth or John Carpenter you will want to stay clear of this one. It has limited terror, very little gore and focuses on characters over action and would bore you. I give it a 7.5 out of 10.