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Guest (2020 film)

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Guest
Directed byFinn Callan
Written byFinn Callan
Produced byIvan Veselov
Starring
  • Melania Crisan
  • Jessica Munna
  • Anna Fraser
CinematographyFyodor Houtheusen
Edited byTrifa Keedo
Music byOxxymoron
Production
company
Project Violet Productions
Release date
Running time
12 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Guest is a 2020 British psychological horror short film directed and written by Finn Callan. It stars Melania Crisan as a disturbed young woman who wakes up in a stranger's house with several injuries after encountering a creature called The Guest. The film also stars Jessica Munna and Anna Fraser. The film premiered on 27 August 2020 at FrightFest and, on 24 December 2020, was uploaded to YouTube.

Upon release, the film received very positive reviews from critics, praising the film's direction, cinematography, monster design and special effects. A sequel was released in 2023.

Plot

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A frightened young woman named Mary wakes up in the bedroom of a stranger's house with injuries that have left her partially blind and deaf. The homeowner (The Woman), who bandaged her up after discovering her in the bathroom that morning, manages to slightly restore her hearing with a hearing aid and asks her what happened.

In a flashback sequence, Mary remembers the previous night where she was chased through the countryside by a tall, slender creature with no eyelids called The Guest. During the chase, Mary finds The Woman's house and breaks inside to escape from The Guest. Finding the house seemingly empty, Mary quickly arms herself with a kitchen knife and hides in the bathroom, only to discover that The Guest is waiting for her inside. Seemingly driven mad by The Guest's presence, Mary pours a bottle of bleach over her eyes and plunges the knife in her ears, blinding and deafening herself as she was at the start of the film.

Frightened at Mary's explanation, The Woman quickly leaves the room and locks the door, trapping Mary inside. Mary then pulls back her bandages to see that The Guest is sitting on the bed next to her with a sad expression on its face, much to Mary's surprise and confusion. The film then abruptly ends.

Cast

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  • Melania Crisan as Mary
  • Jessica Munna as The Woman
  • Anna Fraser as The Guest

Production

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Monster design

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Finn Callan looked to various pre-existing works for inspiration for The Guest's design and which he brought together like a "jigsaw" and had the film's prosthetics artist Francesca Giacovelli illustrate. He cited films such as The Draggs from Fantastic Planet, the Fishermen from Balance and Christiane from Eyes Without a Face as the key inspirational points during the process.[1]

Special effects

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Deciding early on that the special effects to create The Guest would be all practical, Callan enlisted the help of Francesca to create the elaborate special effects make up which took 6 hours to apply to Anna Fraser who played The Guest, who Callan said compared the process to "being buried alive".[2]

Release and reception

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The short film was first shown on at FrightFest on 27 August 2020 and then went around the American horror film festival circuit, premiering in North America at Screamfest on 8 October. During its festival run, it received acclaim from various horror publications, praising the film's direction, cinematography, special effects and monster design.[3][4][5]

On 24 December 2020, Callan uploaded the short to YouTube with a suicide prevention disclaimer placed before the film. The short film quickly became popular and, as of November 2024, has received over 15 million views on the site.[6] Several notable YouTubers have reacted to Guest on YouTube since its upload, including CoryxKenshin and Jacksepticeye.

Festival selections

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Sequel

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Callan wrote and directed a sequel to Guest, which was financed by Chilling, a horror relaxation app. Anna Fraser will return as The Guest in the sequel, with Simon Bigg also being cast. He also stated that he planned for the sequel to Guest to be around twice the length of its predecessor.[11]

Guest 2 was released on YouTube on November 24, 2023.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "A Young Woman Attempts to Rid Herself of An Otherworldly Creature in Finn Callan's 'Guest'". twelvecabins.com. 30 August 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  2. ^ Gelmini, David (26 August 2020). "Exclusive Interview: Finn Callan talks GUEST". dreadcentral.com. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  3. ^ Gelmini, David (25 August 2020). "GUEST Review – An Unsettling Short With A Truly Ghastly Antagonist". dreadcentral.com. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  4. ^ Perry, Joseph (29 August 2020). "[Review] Guest (Arrow Video FrightFest): A Fleeing Woman Has Every Reason To Be Terror-Stricken In Chilling Short Film". gruesomemagazine.com. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Guest short film review". ukfilmreview.co.uk. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  6. ^ finncallan (24 December 2020). "GUEST - A Short Horror Film". Retrieved 22 May 2021 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ "FrightFest announces 2020 short film line-up". vodzille.co. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  8. ^ Squires, John (21 September 2020). "This Year's Screamfest Drive-in Film Festival Will Kick Off With Clive Barker's 'Books of Blood'". bloody-disgusting.com. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  9. ^ Millican, Josh (9 October 2020). "Complete Lineup Announced for TELLURIDE HORROR SHOW 2020 "Shelter-in-Place" Edition". dreadcentral.com. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  10. ^ "2020 Knoxville Horror Film Festival". cinematary.com. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  11. ^ Gelmini, David (November 30, 2022). "Director Finn Callan Talks His Viral Hit 'Guest' And Its Upcoming Sequel [Exclusive Interview]". Dread Central. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  12. ^ "GUEST 2 - A Horror Short Film". YouTube. November 24, 2023. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
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