October 29, 2025 • 22 mins
Coming in at number 3, with some Pandemic inspired fear, 2020’s “Host” Each day in the month of October we will count you down to Halloween with our favorite, not-so-obvious guaranteed horror hits! We’ll tell you why each one made the list, what the critics say, who should watch it and who should NOT and what food/drink/atmosphere to pair it with each night…. And of course, where you can watch it.
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hey, there are folks. It is Wednesday, October twenty ninth,
and the number three movie on our horror hit list
is actually number one when it comes to Rotten Tomato score.
And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ.
We continue our horror hit list. We are now in
(00:28):
our top three. This one has the highest Rotten Tomato
score of any of the thirty movies we have on
our list. Robes put into some kind, put into words
our affection for this movie.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
We love this movie.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
It is so digestible and fun and every time we
watch it, which is now I think countless times, we
still feel the excitement, the rush, yeah, and the appreciation
of it.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
It's on as we're talking right now. Yes, it's on
in the background, and you're right, Rose, we have seen
it so many times. The scares work, the creepy factor
works each and every time. This is number three. I
can't believe maybe number three. Tell the people what number
three is on our list.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
It is Host and it was released in October of
twenty twenty. Very important date, yes, because this is a
pandemic film that is brilliant. I mean, talk about artists
using the current situation that we were in at that
point and using it for horror. It really was effective.
(01:40):
I actually remember where I was when I watched this.
I was sitting next to NICKI, and this movie scared
the Bejesus out of us.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
I mean, you, we have to consider folk and we
need to get into it a little. Why did I'm
just putting this together October twenty twenty. We weren't that far.
We weren't a full year into the pandemic necessarily, just yet.
To think that they put this together. I didn't realize
it came out so quickly twenty. I mean, they shot,
they wrote, they shot, and had this thing out for
us to die very quickly that year. And I think ropes,
(02:14):
this is definitely the shortest on our list. This might
be the shortest horror movie on our radar.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Yeh, fifty seven minutes is the runtime that is usually
a red flag.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Oh, And I remember thinking, okay, what is this? Someone
word of mouth told me, Hey, this movie is streaming,
And obviously we didn't have a lot of new entertainment
coming around at that point in our world, so it
was exciting ooh, something new, and it delivered. It is
officially a horror Mystery. It's rated R and here's the synopsis.
(02:48):
Six friends hire a medium to hold a seance via
zoom during lockdown, but they get far more than they
bargained for as things quickly go wrong.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
That's all you need to know, right, Even that gets
me going and gets you know. We always love a
horror movie that gets you having an argument with the
person you're watching it with, or you're right, you're throwing something,
you're yelling at the screen. You're doing this for fifty
seven minutes in this movie, but you're doing it before
the movie even starts. Because there's no way in hell
I would do a seance.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
We had that conversation again yesterday. You're like, would you ever?
Speaker 3 (03:22):
And at this point, I think, just with all the
movies we've seen, you even said this this morning, I
wouldn't even let a Ouiji board in my apartment, and
I agree with that. I just think, you know what,
why tempt faith? We don't know what's out there. I
reserve space for the fact that there is something out there,
So why would I beckon it to to come to
(03:47):
life or to have permission to haunt or terrorize me?
Speaker 1 (03:51):
No, no, thank you, And that's what they're doing in
this movie a seans via Zoom. Now, this again did
not have why public release. This was in the middle
of the pandemic. There was no box office. There wasn't,
no weren't. When did they even open back up a
little bit?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
I don't remember.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
It took longer than I thought it was going to
I know that much. But this was yeah, fresh entertainment, fresh, creative,
amazing movie that I don't think any of us expected.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
And wow, was it incredible?
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Incredible and it was immediately relatable. We were all having
zoom meetings and doing this at the time. Or the
director of this one, Rob Savage, is his name? Did Boogieman? Rotes? Oh,
this is the guy that did Boogeyman that we like.
Now some of the actors here, there were six, but
among the cast Haley Bishop, Jimma Moore, Emma Webb, Carolyn Ward.
Those names sound familiar to Europes. No, I only say
(04:44):
that because of this. Hayley, Jimma, Emma, Carolyn. They used
their real names in the movie, and we mentioned that, folks,
because it was an intentional move to add to the
authenticity of this film.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
It feels like you are actually watching six friends stuck
in lockdown in their individual apartments, trying to do something
fun and entertaining during the pandemic. I mean, it really
does feel like you're kind of let into their zoom call.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
It doesn't feel like there's a script.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
It doesn't feel like there's acting involved, and it's all
shot by them.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
I mean, the budget had to be almost nothing.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Why do I I swear I saw what one hundred
thousand dollars? Yeah, I think I saw the.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Poodle about right, and yet to have it fall on
the list it does. In terms of critics and audience reviews,
it's pretty impressive.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
It's very impressive. And to that point, the audience reviews
were one thing. The critic reviews were another. This might
be the movie. It has one of the biggest, if
not the biggest gaps we've seen in what the critics
thought and what the audience.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Yeah, the Rotten Tomato score is ninety eight percent from
the critics that I looked to see. There are only
a few other films who have one hundred percent, And
then I think it's one film has one hundred percent.
It's His House. If you've ever seen that movie, that
horror movie, His House.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Twenty twenty. Oh I thought it was good. I didn't
think that it was hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
And then under the Shadow, I've seen that one that's
really scary, but the Wailing those are two foreign films.
So and then get out the babaduk, let the right
one in and Host so it's right up there. Actually,
Rotten Tomatoes released its top two hundred horror movies of
all times based on their ratings, and this is right
up there at the top.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Oh wow, this is a and again, this is a
fifty seven minute movie that's almost got one hundred percent rating.
That tells you a lot about how well done this
one was. I was surprised. I was taken aback. I
was very disappointed by the audience.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Score, only seventy one percent.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Why yeah, let's get into that here. Here first is
the critic consensus lean suspensable and scary. Host uses its
timely premise to deliver a nastily effective treat for horror enthusiasts.
Now horror enthusiasts. Yes, we're going to get into who
it's for. This is one I think is for everybody.
(07:06):
If you were just looking to dip your toe into horror,
we'll get into that as well. So here you go.
Some of the sample critic reviews. Host is a tense,
fear inducing story that takes creative twists on the concept
of found footage film. What do you think about.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
That found footage?
Speaker 1 (07:23):
I guess it was kind of the grimy likely you're
looking in on something, kind of a thing, but it's not.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
A found It's a live event that's unfolding with folks
using rudimentary cameras in the sense they're either using their
laptop camera or their iPhone cameras. And maybe that's why
it's the found footage feel to it, because there is
no found footage. They're just actually experiencing these things live
on a live stream.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Here you go. The it remains resolutely its own thing,
a smart, inventive, and genuinely scary time capsule steeped in
the dread of a global pandemic. I didn't consider that
part adding to the dread you feel in this movie
because your trapped just like they.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Are, right, and I think it tapped in on that
feeling a lot of folks had when they were watching it,
that they were home alone in a small room and
the idea of a demonic presence somehow accompanying you in
that room is frightful because where are you going for help?
How are you getting out of your safe space? That really,
in that moment was the only safe space we felt
(08:25):
like we had. So everyone felt terrorized by the outside world,
so to have that terror come into your small little
world seemed even more frightened.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
And that's exactly what the next critic, what you're saying
there said, the director crafts a creepy and a nerving
horror film that uses lockdown to its advantage. Even the
homes where they were in their backgrounds looked they weren't
all proper and put together. It looks like a little
college kids dorm room almost. It looks so authentic when
(08:55):
you see their bedrooms, and it adds to the drama
of the movie. It so does. Okay, Now, I didn't
find pretty much any negative reviews when it came to
the critics because it was ninety percent. There were several
let me see what you think of this. One says
an hour long zoom call where people yell and bump
into things a lot. That was someone giving a negative
(09:16):
review about it. Do you think what to my question,
there is it for some people go into it looking
at that, and it is. There are just people on screens.
You're watching a zoom call, and there's not a lot
of necessarily big action, just a little subtle thing here,
a chair moves there. It's all effective to me. But
do you think some people found that.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
To be maybe people who want big action films, somebody
who wants, I don't know, something loud and fast paced.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
This isn't it.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
But man, the tension builds and it builds it such
an effective pace. I mean again, it's only fifty seven minutes,
but when it starts going, it ramps up quickly.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
But you say people want something loud and fast paced.
I want, what is with your attentions by that you
can't do for fifty seven I.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
Don't understand it either, because also the character development was
awesome in the beginning, where you're learning about two girls
and their personalities, and I just I was invested in
them and therefore was invested in what happened to them
in the end.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Do you make a good point about the how effective
character development is in fifty seven minutes? You're right? You
find out something, You learn something about each and every
one of the women. Even the filters on the yes,
like that tells you something about her personality. Correct, that's
a very good point. All right, a few more here,
couple of jump scares, but that's it. That was somebody's
negative review.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Oh my gosh, then you're not appreciating the build up
and the dread and the oh my god, what's happening.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Part of it.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Another man review here said, it keeps you intention throughout
the movie. Everything looks very natural and entertaining, with good
scares without abusing screamers, although it seems to me that
it fails a lot in its villain. The ending is
quite predictable, and the summoning of the demon is terrible.
(11:05):
Even so, they are fifty seven very enjoyable minutes.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
I don't understand the criticism, yeah at all.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
I really don't, because, by the way, I disagree completely
about the ending.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
The ending is my favorite part.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
We actually have rewound it several times just to watch
the ending again.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
I remember when I first saw this, and I will
just say that the screaming came from the other end
of the television when I was watching it, but to
the point where the whole house was like, what just happened?
And I was telling the kids you have to watch
this movie and wait until the end.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
O MG.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
A well chosen concept, but I wouldn't consider this movie
scary and yet also not that entertaining to watch. Still,
I would recommend it if you don't know what to
watch and not looking for a particular deep movie. This
is why I struggle with putting too many audience reviews.
When something is so well reviewed by critics, people seem
to just be looking for something to I.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Think people do, like you say they some people like
to be contrariants and they like to say, oh, well,
the critics, you know, just fell into the you know whatever,
the illusion of this. But I see it differently as
a real person who doesn't like X, y Z whatever.
This is an awesome movie.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Everybody has a right to their opinion. But clearly, and
I know you've seen it as well, when you read
through some of the reviews, you're looking for a criticism
of the acting, of the writing, of the directing, and
a lot of people just go but I don't know
what you people are talking about, yes, immediately, just.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
I do sometimes think it's expectations. I think sometimes people
look at reviews or they see something is supposed to
be so good, and then they have a certain expectation
about what the movie is supposed to be and then
they're disappointed.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
So we probably disappointed a lot of because we said
really high expectations all of these movies.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
That is true, That is true.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
I get that this movie is absolutely brilliant. And you
know what, if you don't like it, is only gonna
take fifty minutes of your day anyway. So just trust
us on this one. But why did this one make
our list? Who's it made for? Who's it not made for?
In the moment you're all waiting for, what did robot
come up with to pair with food and drink? With
(13:16):
this movie, you're gonna explain all.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
That building expectations.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Hey, you've been delivering so far, she will deliver again.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Stay here, continuing our conversation about number three on our
Halloween Horror hit list. We're talking about Host, A brilliant
little gem will run you under an hour and you'll
(13:44):
get well, I hope, just like us, you'll get years
of enjoyment from this movie because we continue to watch
it and we'll do so for the years to come.
And why are we doing it? Because this movie is
just we said it it's brilliant. It's so well done,
it's so well acted. Did it's a fun ride that
(14:04):
it's amazing to me with in terms of like technology
and in terms of what like sometimes what we expect
from movies. This is so simple there is There are
no bells and whistles, there are no special effects. It's
just so well done. And because it's so simple, I
think I appreciate it that much more because it probably
(14:27):
made it feel more realistic.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
I respect this movie so much how they pulled this off.
We want you a lot of horror movies. We know
a lot, We know the tricks, we know sometimes with
the graphics that are neat at the CGI. We know
all this stuff. You know. We also know that every
movie has to have that line in it and said, ooh,
we have no signal. Right right, we know everything, and
(14:52):
to have a movie this fresh that surprises you that
you actually don't see what's coming, what they're doing, and
why is to pull it off this effectively. I'm even
more impressed to hear that it came out in October,
Like they put this together pretty quickly. When did they
start on this during the pandemic?
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (15:10):
I mean, well, yeah, we all got into lockdown in March,
so there wasn't a lot of time. You're right, when
you think about how movies are made, this is almost
unheard of.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Yeah, but they needed the pandemic to pull it off.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Yeah, it was just so. And the way it was
shod it's raw. It just I love this movie and
the woman who's putting them through the seance the medium, yes,
or whatever she has. There's a couple of comedic moments
in there. I don't know how they got this in
fifty seven minutes. I would like to see a long,
longer form. Oh yeah, of a director's cut. I wonder
how long it is.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
I would have continued to watch for sure. So who
is this for?
Speaker 3 (15:43):
We think it's for anybody. I don't think you have
to be a huge I mean, if you're a horror
movie aficionado, I think, obviously we know you'll appreciate it.
But even if you don't tend to like horror movies,
this is a fun movie to put on for. You know,
a lot of times you have mixed company. I've dealt
with this, We've all all dealt with this threat our lives.
When you love horror movies, half your friends don't, or
(16:04):
sometimes even more than half your friends don't. This is
one I think you could introduce them to and say, hey,
let's sit down.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
I promise this isn't.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
So scary that you'll be mad at me, but you'll
actually appreciate how fun it is.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
This one doesn't come with a warning from us so many. Hey,
if you don't like there's a little killing in here,
there's a little guts in here, there's a little it's
really not that. I don't feel like I need to
give anybody a heads up necessarily. I think anybody can
watch this and dip a toe, and if somebody's at
your house, you get to make the call on what
movie is being watched.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
Ha ha.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Yeah I don't like it, you can leave, you can
go to another room. But yes, it is a compromise
for horror belief.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
And who is it not for. I think anyone who
has a Buiji ward in their house, or anyone who
actually participates in seances. I think this would freak you out.
Maybe you think it's maybe I don't know, maybe that
would even make it more thrilling to watch. If you
do have those things in your home, or that is
something you regularly do. But to me, that would scare
(17:05):
me to the point where I wouldn't want to watch
this movie.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
This is further confirmation not to mess around because this
thing is not It doesn't bring in a Wiji board.
I'm not just specifically that, but like some outside like
there's a magic dagger or they're right using something as
a part of it. This is just simple conversation and
lighting of candles. That's it. We all got candles in
the house. We got candles burning right now. Like it's
(17:30):
just it hits you in that it's not so foreign,
like we could all get caught up in this, and
that's scary to me. And I don't think this is
for people who aren't open minded when they come into it.
I say that because of a lot of the reviews
they seem to just, oh, this is a zoom call.
It's so boring. Why would anybody just watch? Like, if
you're not open minded to what this movie can be,
(17:51):
and you just turned off because you think it's boring
to see people sitting on a computer screen.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
If you're already turned off by the idea that literally
the entire movie is a zoom call, then yeah, just
skip it. That's fine food drink pairing, all right, I
hear it is, so obviously you're gonna need to have
some shots because it would be fun to play along
with the characters. There is a part of the movie
where they do shots, and it's when one of the
(18:19):
other characters says a specific phrase, and so it's.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Fun and knowing it ahead of time, you.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
Could just have whatever tequila shots lined up, all right, everybody,
when the part of the movie comes for shots, yes,
we're gonna.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
Do it with the characters. That would be fun, right.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
Also, you mentioned you loved the medium and as the
woman who conducts the seance, she is Irish and she
likes to say spirits. So I suggest that you drink
some spirits and set them on the table. So whatever
spit it you like, just every time she says spit it,
you could have a sip of your spin it.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Don't drink every time she says spirit though, because you
are going to be wasted.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
My other, my other suggestion is setting the mood with candles.
You mentioned candles. Yes, I think you need to have
some candles lit. And this is a popcorn movie, period.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Could you watch this by yourself?
Speaker 1 (19:11):
You can, but you'll regret that you did.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
I wouldn't want to.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Yeah, as a heads up, if you're what, you actually
get through it to a little ways and you think
you're okay, and then you realize, damn, I screwed up.
I should not have watched this.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
My MoMA. Yeah, if you're by yourself and you have
your computer, op or something, and you're feeling like, oh,
if I just jumped on a zoom with somebody, i'd
feel safe. That is gone after you've watched this movie,
and you'd be looking over your shoulder.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Can't you watch this one in the daytime? I think
a lot the screens were lit. I don't think there's
a lot of night.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
You can watch it in the daytime. You're right, because
it is on screens. Everything is bright. But I would
be nervous, definitely. If you're by yourself, you would be
looking over your shoulder the entire time because it's said
at night.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
It's just they've got the brightness of the screen.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
This is a nighttime movie or the experience.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
I think it's a night time.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
You should be in and pitch blackness in the room
with a couple of candles going is how should be
And my recommendation of food was something you don't have
to look down at to pick up, like just a
bunch of those little hard mini pretzels that a little salted,
something light on the stomach. But it's something you don't
have to popcorn works.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Yep, you don't want to have to look down.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
You gotta keep your eyes on the screen.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Yeah, because there are things you will miss.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Oh yeah, you gotta keep you out one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
All right.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
This one can be found on Netflix. It is available
on Netflix though.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Fantastic.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
All right, So our next movie will be number two
on the list.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
And how would we tease this one?
Speaker 1 (20:32):
It's the Is it the only one we have that's
a foreign We had another foreign length, but you can't
this one. You can't.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Yes, we had another one we had, remember, and we
watched it dubbed.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
This one. The dubbing is not available. Don't have that right,
not right now.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
I have seen reviews that people have watched this one dubbed,
but I don't recall that I have. I'm fairly certain
I've only watched this one with subtitles. And the thing
that's interesting is I have found this when you have
a good movie with subtiples. It ends up you forget
that you saw the movie with the subtitles, and I
feel like you don't miss anything because you're almost like
(21:07):
reading a book and watching a movie at the same time.
I appreciate it, and you're right, you can't take your
eyes off of it.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Obviously, this.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Is an incredible and you know what, this one might
have dipped its toe into a little mainstream. It seemed
like a lot of people might have known about this one.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Lately, but initially I believe, am I correct that I'm
the one who introduced this to you.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
You had not seen it.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
I hesitated to watch it for so long because I
don't like subtitles. I don't like to have to read. Boy,
was I wrong? And we assure you this one is
not PG thirteen.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
And we assure you this one is filled with action.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
Whereas obviously host we said is just zoom screens frightening.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
This is the antithesis of that.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
We're gonna make up for it the next one.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
All right, with that, everyone, thanks for listening. I made
me roboch alongside TJ. Holmes. We'll talk to you soon.
Hey, there are folks. It is Wednesday, October twenty ninth,
and the number three movie on our horror hit list
is actually number one when it comes to Rotten Tomato score.
And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ.
We continue our horror hit list. We are now in
(00:28):
our top three. This one has the highest Rotten Tomato
score of any of the thirty movies we have on
our list. Robes put into some kind, put into words
our affection for this movie.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
We love this movie.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
It is so digestible and fun and every time we
watch it, which is now I think countless times, we
still feel the excitement, the rush, yeah, and the appreciation
of it.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
It's on as we're talking right now. Yes, it's on
in the background, and you're right, Rose, we have seen
it so many times. The scares work, the creepy factor
works each and every time. This is number three. I
can't believe maybe number three. Tell the people what number
three is on our list.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
It is Host and it was released in October of
twenty twenty. Very important date, yes, because this is a
pandemic film that is brilliant. I mean, talk about artists
using the current situation that we were in at that
point and using it for horror. It really was effective.
(01:40):
I actually remember where I was when I watched this.
I was sitting next to NICKI, and this movie scared
the Bejesus out of us.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
I mean, you, we have to consider folk and we
need to get into it a little. Why did I'm
just putting this together October twenty twenty. We weren't that far.
We weren't a full year into the pandemic necessarily, just yet.
To think that they put this together. I didn't realize
it came out so quickly twenty. I mean, they shot,
they wrote, they shot, and had this thing out for
us to die very quickly that year. And I think ropes,
(02:14):
this is definitely the shortest on our list. This might
be the shortest horror movie on our radar.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Yeh, fifty seven minutes is the runtime that is usually
a red flag.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Oh, And I remember thinking, okay, what is this? Someone
word of mouth told me, Hey, this movie is streaming,
And obviously we didn't have a lot of new entertainment
coming around at that point in our world, so it
was exciting ooh, something new, and it delivered. It is
officially a horror Mystery. It's rated R and here's the synopsis.
(02:48):
Six friends hire a medium to hold a seance via
zoom during lockdown, but they get far more than they
bargained for as things quickly go wrong.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
That's all you need to know, right, Even that gets
me going and gets you know. We always love a
horror movie that gets you having an argument with the
person you're watching it with, or you're right, you're throwing something,
you're yelling at the screen. You're doing this for fifty
seven minutes in this movie, but you're doing it before
the movie even starts. Because there's no way in hell
I would do a seance.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
We had that conversation again yesterday. You're like, would you ever?
Speaker 3 (03:22):
And at this point, I think, just with all the
movies we've seen, you even said this this morning, I
wouldn't even let a Ouiji board in my apartment, and
I agree with that. I just think, you know what,
why tempt faith? We don't know what's out there. I
reserve space for the fact that there is something out there,
So why would I beckon it to to come to
(03:47):
life or to have permission to haunt or terrorize me?
Speaker 1 (03:51):
No, no, thank you, And that's what they're doing in
this movie a seans via Zoom. Now, this again did
not have why public release. This was in the middle
of the pandemic. There was no box office. There wasn't,
no weren't. When did they even open back up a
little bit?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
I don't remember.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
It took longer than I thought it was going to
I know that much. But this was yeah, fresh entertainment, fresh, creative,
amazing movie that I don't think any of us expected.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
And wow, was it incredible?
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Incredible and it was immediately relatable. We were all having
zoom meetings and doing this at the time. Or the
director of this one, Rob Savage, is his name? Did Boogieman? Rotes? Oh,
this is the guy that did Boogeyman that we like.
Now some of the actors here, there were six, but
among the cast Haley Bishop, Jimma Moore, Emma Webb, Carolyn Ward.
Those names sound familiar to Europes. No, I only say
(04:44):
that because of this. Hayley, Jimma, Emma, Carolyn. They used
their real names in the movie, and we mentioned that, folks,
because it was an intentional move to add to the
authenticity of this film.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
It feels like you are actually watching six friends stuck
in lockdown in their individual apartments, trying to do something
fun and entertaining during the pandemic. I mean, it really
does feel like you're kind of let into their zoom call.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
It doesn't feel like there's a script.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
It doesn't feel like there's acting involved, and it's all
shot by them.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
I mean, the budget had to be almost nothing.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Why do I I swear I saw what one hundred
thousand dollars? Yeah, I think I saw the.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Poodle about right, and yet to have it fall on
the list it does. In terms of critics and audience reviews,
it's pretty impressive.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
It's very impressive. And to that point, the audience reviews
were one thing. The critic reviews were another. This might
be the movie. It has one of the biggest, if
not the biggest gaps we've seen in what the critics
thought and what the audience.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Yeah, the Rotten Tomato score is ninety eight percent from
the critics that I looked to see. There are only
a few other films who have one hundred percent, And
then I think it's one film has one hundred percent.
It's His House. If you've ever seen that movie, that
horror movie, His House.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Twenty twenty. Oh I thought it was good. I didn't
think that it was hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
And then under the Shadow, I've seen that one that's
really scary, but the Wailing those are two foreign films.
So and then get out the babaduk, let the right
one in and Host so it's right up there. Actually,
Rotten Tomatoes released its top two hundred horror movies of
all times based on their ratings, and this is right
up there at the top.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Oh wow, this is a and again, this is a
fifty seven minute movie that's almost got one hundred percent rating.
That tells you a lot about how well done this
one was. I was surprised. I was taken aback. I
was very disappointed by the audience.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Score, only seventy one percent.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Why yeah, let's get into that here. Here first is
the critic consensus lean suspensable and scary. Host uses its
timely premise to deliver a nastily effective treat for horror enthusiasts.
Now horror enthusiasts. Yes, we're going to get into who
it's for. This is one I think is for everybody.
(07:06):
If you were just looking to dip your toe into horror,
we'll get into that as well. So here you go.
Some of the sample critic reviews. Host is a tense,
fear inducing story that takes creative twists on the concept
of found footage film. What do you think about.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
That found footage?
Speaker 1 (07:23):
I guess it was kind of the grimy likely you're
looking in on something, kind of a thing, but it's not.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
A found It's a live event that's unfolding with folks
using rudimentary cameras in the sense they're either using their
laptop camera or their iPhone cameras. And maybe that's why
it's the found footage feel to it, because there is
no found footage. They're just actually experiencing these things live
on a live stream.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Here you go. The it remains resolutely its own thing,
a smart, inventive, and genuinely scary time capsule steeped in
the dread of a global pandemic. I didn't consider that
part adding to the dread you feel in this movie
because your trapped just like they.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Are, right, and I think it tapped in on that
feeling a lot of folks had when they were watching it,
that they were home alone in a small room and
the idea of a demonic presence somehow accompanying you in
that room is frightful because where are you going for help?
How are you getting out of your safe space? That really,
in that moment was the only safe space we felt
(08:25):
like we had. So everyone felt terrorized by the outside world,
so to have that terror come into your small little
world seemed even more frightened.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
And that's exactly what the next critic, what you're saying
there said, the director crafts a creepy and a nerving
horror film that uses lockdown to its advantage. Even the
homes where they were in their backgrounds looked they weren't
all proper and put together. It looks like a little
college kids dorm room almost. It looks so authentic when
(08:55):
you see their bedrooms, and it adds to the drama
of the movie. It so does. Okay, Now, I didn't
find pretty much any negative reviews when it came to
the critics because it was ninety percent. There were several
let me see what you think of this. One says
an hour long zoom call where people yell and bump
into things a lot. That was someone giving a negative
(09:16):
review about it. Do you think what to my question,
there is it for some people go into it looking
at that, and it is. There are just people on screens.
You're watching a zoom call, and there's not a lot
of necessarily big action, just a little subtle thing here,
a chair moves there. It's all effective to me. But
do you think some people found that.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
To be maybe people who want big action films, somebody
who wants, I don't know, something loud and fast paced.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
This isn't it.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
But man, the tension builds and it builds it such
an effective pace. I mean again, it's only fifty seven minutes,
but when it starts going, it ramps up quickly.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
But you say people want something loud and fast paced.
I want, what is with your attentions by that you
can't do for fifty seven I.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
Don't understand it either, because also the character development was
awesome in the beginning, where you're learning about two girls
and their personalities, and I just I was invested in
them and therefore was invested in what happened to them
in the end.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Do you make a good point about the how effective
character development is in fifty seven minutes? You're right? You
find out something, You learn something about each and every
one of the women. Even the filters on the yes,
like that tells you something about her personality. Correct, that's
a very good point. All right, a few more here,
couple of jump scares, but that's it. That was somebody's
negative review.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Oh my gosh, then you're not appreciating the build up
and the dread and the oh my god, what's happening.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Part of it.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Another man review here said, it keeps you intention throughout
the movie. Everything looks very natural and entertaining, with good
scares without abusing screamers, although it seems to me that
it fails a lot in its villain. The ending is
quite predictable, and the summoning of the demon is terrible.
(11:05):
Even so, they are fifty seven very enjoyable minutes.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
I don't understand the criticism, yeah at all.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
I really don't, because, by the way, I disagree completely
about the ending.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
The ending is my favorite part.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
We actually have rewound it several times just to watch
the ending again.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
I remember when I first saw this, and I will
just say that the screaming came from the other end
of the television when I was watching it, but to
the point where the whole house was like, what just happened?
And I was telling the kids you have to watch
this movie and wait until the end.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
O MG.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
A well chosen concept, but I wouldn't consider this movie
scary and yet also not that entertaining to watch. Still,
I would recommend it if you don't know what to
watch and not looking for a particular deep movie. This
is why I struggle with putting too many audience reviews.
When something is so well reviewed by critics, people seem
to just be looking for something to I.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Think people do, like you say they some people like
to be contrariants and they like to say, oh, well,
the critics, you know, just fell into the you know whatever,
the illusion of this. But I see it differently as
a real person who doesn't like X, y Z whatever.
This is an awesome movie.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Everybody has a right to their opinion. But clearly, and
I know you've seen it as well, when you read
through some of the reviews, you're looking for a criticism
of the acting, of the writing, of the directing, and
a lot of people just go but I don't know
what you people are talking about, yes, immediately, just.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
I do sometimes think it's expectations. I think sometimes people
look at reviews or they see something is supposed to
be so good, and then they have a certain expectation
about what the movie is supposed to be and then
they're disappointed.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
So we probably disappointed a lot of because we said
really high expectations all of these movies.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
That is true, That is true.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
I get that this movie is absolutely brilliant. And you
know what, if you don't like it, is only gonna
take fifty minutes of your day anyway. So just trust
us on this one. But why did this one make
our list? Who's it made for? Who's it not made for?
In the moment you're all waiting for, what did robot
come up with to pair with food and drink? With
(13:16):
this movie, you're gonna explain all.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
That building expectations.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Hey, you've been delivering so far, she will deliver again.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Stay here, continuing our conversation about number three on our
Halloween Horror hit list. We're talking about Host, A brilliant
little gem will run you under an hour and you'll
(13:44):
get well, I hope, just like us, you'll get years
of enjoyment from this movie because we continue to watch
it and we'll do so for the years to come.
And why are we doing it? Because this movie is
just we said it it's brilliant. It's so well done,
it's so well acted. Did it's a fun ride that
(14:04):
it's amazing to me with in terms of like technology
and in terms of what like sometimes what we expect
from movies. This is so simple there is There are
no bells and whistles, there are no special effects. It's
just so well done. And because it's so simple, I
think I appreciate it that much more because it probably
(14:27):
made it feel more realistic.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
I respect this movie so much how they pulled this off.
We want you a lot of horror movies. We know
a lot, We know the tricks, we know sometimes with
the graphics that are neat at the CGI. We know
all this stuff. You know. We also know that every
movie has to have that line in it and said, ooh,
we have no signal. Right right, we know everything, and
(14:52):
to have a movie this fresh that surprises you that
you actually don't see what's coming, what they're doing, and
why is to pull it off this effectively. I'm even
more impressed to hear that it came out in October,
Like they put this together pretty quickly. When did they
start on this during the pandemic?
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (15:10):
I mean, well, yeah, we all got into lockdown in March,
so there wasn't a lot of time. You're right, when
you think about how movies are made, this is almost
unheard of.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Yeah, but they needed the pandemic to pull it off.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Yeah, it was just so. And the way it was
shod it's raw. It just I love this movie and
the woman who's putting them through the seance the medium, yes,
or whatever she has. There's a couple of comedic moments
in there. I don't know how they got this in
fifty seven minutes. I would like to see a long,
longer form. Oh yeah, of a director's cut. I wonder
how long it is.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
I would have continued to watch for sure. So who
is this for?
Speaker 3 (15:43):
We think it's for anybody. I don't think you have
to be a huge I mean, if you're a horror
movie aficionado, I think, obviously we know you'll appreciate it.
But even if you don't tend to like horror movies,
this is a fun movie to put on for. You know,
a lot of times you have mixed company. I've dealt
with this, We've all all dealt with this threat our lives.
When you love horror movies, half your friends don't, or
(16:04):
sometimes even more than half your friends don't. This is
one I think you could introduce them to and say, hey,
let's sit down.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
I promise this isn't.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
So scary that you'll be mad at me, but you'll
actually appreciate how fun it is.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
This one doesn't come with a warning from us so many. Hey,
if you don't like there's a little killing in here,
there's a little guts in here, there's a little it's
really not that. I don't feel like I need to
give anybody a heads up necessarily. I think anybody can
watch this and dip a toe, and if somebody's at
your house, you get to make the call on what
movie is being watched.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
Ha ha.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Yeah I don't like it, you can leave, you can
go to another room. But yes, it is a compromise
for horror belief.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
And who is it not for. I think anyone who
has a Buiji ward in their house, or anyone who
actually participates in seances. I think this would freak you out.
Maybe you think it's maybe I don't know, maybe that
would even make it more thrilling to watch. If you
do have those things in your home, or that is
something you regularly do. But to me, that would scare
(17:05):
me to the point where I wouldn't want to watch
this movie.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
This is further confirmation not to mess around because this
thing is not It doesn't bring in a Wiji board.
I'm not just specifically that, but like some outside like
there's a magic dagger or they're right using something as
a part of it. This is just simple conversation and
lighting of candles. That's it. We all got candles in
the house. We got candles burning right now. Like it's
(17:30):
just it hits you in that it's not so foreign,
like we could all get caught up in this, and
that's scary to me. And I don't think this is
for people who aren't open minded when they come into it.
I say that because of a lot of the reviews
they seem to just, oh, this is a zoom call.
It's so boring. Why would anybody just watch? Like, if
you're not open minded to what this movie can be,
(17:51):
and you just turned off because you think it's boring
to see people sitting on a computer screen.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
If you're already turned off by the idea that literally
the entire movie is a zoom call, then yeah, just
skip it. That's fine food drink pairing, all right, I
hear it is, so obviously you're gonna need to have
some shots because it would be fun to play along
with the characters. There is a part of the movie
where they do shots, and it's when one of the
(18:19):
other characters says a specific phrase, and so it's.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Fun and knowing it ahead of time, you.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
Could just have whatever tequila shots lined up, all right, everybody,
when the part of the movie comes for shots, yes,
we're gonna.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
Do it with the characters. That would be fun, right.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
Also, you mentioned you loved the medium and as the
woman who conducts the seance, she is Irish and she
likes to say spirits. So I suggest that you drink
some spirits and set them on the table. So whatever
spit it you like, just every time she says spit it,
you could have a sip of your spin it.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Don't drink every time she says spirit though, because you
are going to be wasted.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
My other, my other suggestion is setting the mood with candles.
You mentioned candles. Yes, I think you need to have
some candles lit. And this is a popcorn movie, period.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Could you watch this by yourself?
Speaker 1 (19:11):
You can, but you'll regret that you did.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
I wouldn't want to.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Yeah, as a heads up, if you're what, you actually
get through it to a little ways and you think
you're okay, and then you realize, damn, I screwed up.
I should not have watched this.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
My MoMA. Yeah, if you're by yourself and you have
your computer, op or something, and you're feeling like, oh,
if I just jumped on a zoom with somebody, i'd
feel safe. That is gone after you've watched this movie,
and you'd be looking over your shoulder.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Can't you watch this one in the daytime? I think
a lot the screens were lit. I don't think there's
a lot of night.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
You can watch it in the daytime. You're right, because
it is on screens. Everything is bright. But I would
be nervous, definitely. If you're by yourself, you would be
looking over your shoulder the entire time because it's said
at night.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
It's just they've got the brightness of the screen.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
This is a nighttime movie or the experience.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
I think it's a night time.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
You should be in and pitch blackness in the room
with a couple of candles going is how should be
And my recommendation of food was something you don't have
to look down at to pick up, like just a
bunch of those little hard mini pretzels that a little salted,
something light on the stomach. But it's something you don't
have to popcorn works.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Yep, you don't want to have to look down.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
You gotta keep your eyes on the screen.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Yeah, because there are things you will miss.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Oh yeah, you gotta keep you out one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
All right.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
This one can be found on Netflix. It is available
on Netflix though.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Fantastic.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
All right, So our next movie will be number two
on the list.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
And how would we tease this one?
Speaker 1 (20:32):
It's the Is it the only one we have that's
a foreign We had another foreign length, but you can't
this one. You can't.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Yes, we had another one we had, remember, and we
watched it dubbed.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
This one. The dubbing is not available. Don't have that right,
not right now.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
I have seen reviews that people have watched this one dubbed,
but I don't recall that I have. I'm fairly certain
I've only watched this one with subtitles. And the thing
that's interesting is I have found this when you have
a good movie with subtiples. It ends up you forget
that you saw the movie with the subtitles, and I
feel like you don't miss anything because you're almost like
(21:07):
reading a book and watching a movie at the same time.
I appreciate it, and you're right, you can't take your
eyes off of it.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Obviously, this.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Is an incredible and you know what, this one might
have dipped its toe into a little mainstream. It seemed
like a lot of people might have known about this one.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Lately, but initially I believe, am I correct that I'm
the one who introduced this to you.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
You had not seen it.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
I hesitated to watch it for so long because I
don't like subtitles. I don't like to have to read. Boy,
was I wrong? And we assure you this one is
not PG thirteen.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
And we assure you this one is filled with action.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
Whereas obviously host we said is just zoom screens frightening.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
This is the antithesis of that.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
We're gonna make up for it the next one.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
All right, with that, everyone, thanks for listening. I made
me roboch alongside TJ. Holmes. We'll talk to you soon.
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