Host

Year of Release:  2020

Director:  Rob Savage

Screenplay:  Gemma Hurley, Rob Savage,  Jed Shepherd

Starring:  Haley Bishop, Jemma Moore, Emma Louise Webb, Radina Drandova, Caroline Ward, Teddy Lind, Seylan Baxter

Running Time:  57 minutes

Genre:  Horror

While in lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, six bored friends decide to take part in an online seance over Zoom.  It all appears to be a fun distraction from being stuck in their own homes, until it becomes apparent that a supernatural entity has been summoned.

This found-footage British horror film takes place entirely over a Zoom call.  It was filmed under the quarantine restrictions for the COVID-19 pandemic, Savage directed remotely, with each of the  actors handling their own lighting, camera, stunts and practical effects.  This is a film very much of it's time, and could be the first film of the COVID era.  However, in many ways this is quite a traditional found-footage film, with many of the scare tactics being familiar from films such as Paranormal Activity (2007), and Unfriended (2014), which also takes place over a group video chat.  The backdrop of the lockdown is effective for a horror film, since we can all relate to it, the claustrophobia, and boredom, and also, for some people, being stuck with someone who we may not want to be with.  This is one of the better found footage films, and certainly worth watching for horror fans.

Haley Bishop, Caroline Ward, Emma Louise Webb, Jemma Moore and Radina Drandova in Host