The Perfect Host

The Perfect Host

I hate dinner parties. Really, I hate them. I've been to many of them and I've been to all sorts of them but in the end I've hated all of them. There's just something about a crowd of egotistical middle-aged people sitting around a dinner table talking about the successes they've seen since the last time they got absolutely hammered in college that I find particularly unappealing. In fact, I would actually go as far as to say that most dinner parties are actually pretty sad when you get down to the core of them. The hosts invite the friends they haven't seen in years to catch up on the times and drink themselves into a happy stupor so that they can momentarily forget the fact that they won't see one another again for another three years when they have to leave. So, as I watched "The Perfect Host" I found myself really appreciating the dark humor that mocks the idea of a dinner party itself. It's seriously one of the funniest black comedies I've seen in a long while and really shows that the independent studios make some of the best movies despite their low budgets.

So let's take a quick look at the cast before we get into the movie's story. "The Perfect Host" doesn't necessarily have an all-star cast; in fact the only actor you might recognize is David Hyde Pierce who plays as the story's main antagonist. Pierce is absolutely brilliant in this movie and it does well to showcase how talented Pierce actually is. There are several scenes that call for him to be gravely serious and then to immediately turn around to be lighthearted. Pierce absolutely nails this and it's incredible to witness. The other main actor in the movie is Clayne Crawford. Never heard of him? I don't blame you since his biggest role to date besides this one was a recurring role in 24. Crawford plays the story's protagonist and I regret having to have inform that Crawford's performance is generally pretty wooden throughout most of the film, which is pretty disappointing because at the same time I'd like to see Crawford in other movies.  

The Story:

The film begins with the protagonist, John Taylor, running for his life after a successful bank robbery. John is a career criminal so the very first thing he does is dispose of the evidence. Fine, but what bugs me is what he does next. John apparently had some difficulties somewhere along the line during the score because he's got a cut or a gunshot wound (it's not quite made clear) on his foot. As he's slowly bleeding out, John decides to go into the nearest convenience store to buy disinfectant and first aid supply despite the fact that the police have an entire description of him and the car he's driving... Which oddly enough he doesn't abandon the car with the rest of the evidence... Or try to conceal his facial features which kind of backfires since a television in the store plasters his face to the public for everybody to see. Fortunately for John, the stereotypical foreign cashier is busy with a robbery. This is where movie first establishes that this isn't an entirely serious story. In fact, when the lady robber demands that the cashier place the register's money in a bag he gives her a look like she's some minor inconvenience to his day and asks: "Paper or plastic?" 

The whole scene is actually pretty funny and kinda plays out like this familiar segment:

John's whole "master criminal" character kind of goes down the drain though the minute he actually does decide to drop the car as he proceeds to attempt to break into people's houses to dodge the fuzz. Luckily enough, he finds a really nice house with a surprisingly hospitable owner who let's him in. After introductions that don't consist of "Sup bro, I'm the guy on the news that the entire police force is putting all of their resources into to capture."

Here, we meet Warwick who's quite busy preparing for a dinner party with several friends and he even invites John to join them. Eventually, John's past catches up to him and he attempts to take Warwick hostage and orders him to call of the party. Warwick obeys and John proceeds to drink away Warwick's red wine. 

Now, the previous fifteen minutes consisted of Warwick just being a really nice guy that doesn't want to turn a poor sap away. I even believed this persona myself despite the fact that I had some idea of what was going to happen! But as I was taking notes throughout the movie, one of the main points I wrote down was that Warwick is the story's figurative onion. He's got plenty of layers that get peeled away as time goes on and the first major rotten layer is revealed when Warwick reveals to John that the red wine is drugged. So already we see a layer of sincere hospitality and an all around nice guy just looking to have a good time with his friends and we see the layer underneath showing that he's incredibly clever and clearly has some sort of insidious agenda.

The rest of the movie peels the rest of the layers of the onion away and it's revealed that Warwick is actually a depraved serial killer and all the guests attending his party are actually just figments of his psychotic imagination. It's actually quite funny at times when you see Warwick flirting with a female guest, that guest has her very own actress but it's show that he's doing nothing but talking to a wall. It's particularly hard to describe what I mean so I figure I should show you. For example, in this scene we see Warwick chatting up his guests at the dinner table...

Oh really Phil don't worry about this one. His wrists are bound to keep him from spilling wine all over the tablecloth!

But less than two minutes later the perspective shifts to John's point of view and we really see how crazy Warwick is.

 WHAT THE HELL DID I SAY ABOUT THE TABLECLOTH!?!?!

Now for the most part, this movie maintains the key elements of a true black comedy. Quick movie lesson kids! Black comedies are one of the hardest stories to tell because it's vital that the story maintains a serious story and setting but keeps a lighthearted tone without getting too ridiculous because after all, you're telling a story about a serial killer who takes people hostage during your pretend dinner parties that turn into full blow pretend house parties. It's not exactly comedic material. If you don't use enough comedy then you end up with a thriller that doesn't take itself serious. On the flip side however, if you use too much comedy then you run the risk of losing all your credibility and you get a comedy with a stupid premises. The balance has to be exactly right and if you're making a movie, witty dialogue and ironic moments just aren't enough. I've see plenty of movies do almost everything right except they leave one key feature out that ruins the rest of their work. What is that key feature? Your soundtrack. This is true for every single movie ever made, even if you have a great movie with a great story and outstanding actors, the music makes all the difference. "The Perfect Host" is absolutely perfect in this aspect. Even in the most grisly situations the music keeps the tone relaxed and in some cases hilarious! One scene I can clearly remember had Warwick pulling out a scrapbook and showing John all the people he's butchered in the same manner he plans on using on John. Next, Warwick takes John into the next room and shows him an 8mm short movie consisting of Warwick standing naked in a bathroom cutting himself with a blade in a ridiculously sexual manner. And you know what? Call me insane but it was freaking hilarious.

What? Are you saying that Hannibal Lecter isn't your favorite comedian?

If I was watching any other movie, this wouldn't strike me as funny because the material itself isn't a joke. It's the exact opposite of what a joke is but the director, Nick Tomnay, made a creative decision to accompany this scene with classical piano music. Sometimes these scenes are accompanied by 70's guitar riffs. It's funny! Really! 

For the most part, the balance is perfect. The movie almost never goes overboard and makes you think "Well that was just stupid." 

Well, the operative word in the sentence is almost. I really don't want to give away the scene because should you choose to watch "The Perfect Host" I want you to feel the same WTF feeling I had. But I will give you an idea of what I mean by ridiculous. The scene features the song "Car Wash". I do not care who you are and what kind of message you mean to send. Any time a movie features "Car Wash" loses all its credibility it's built up and this destroys any tension during a dark comedy story. I don't mean to say it's a bad song or anything but Rose Royce isn't exactly the most gritty song writer.

If you squint really, really, REALLY hard, you might be able to pretend it's a scene from 2Pac's "Juice"

Final Verdict:

"The Perfect Host" is the result of a restricted budget and hiring actual writers for your screenplay. Clever dialogue, humorous moments set in serious settings, an excellent soundtrack, and an original story filled with twists during the late movie make for a great movie. I would most definitely recommend this movie to anyone who's looking to watch a movie with a different story that doesn't fall victim to endless cliches. Dan Hyde Pierce overshadows every other actor in the movie with his madman acting antics and that's just fine. You could get rid of every character in the film and just have Pierce interacting with his imagination and the movie would still be great. If you enjoyed this movie, remember that this is an indie film which is a genre that does not get the attention it deserves. So give not only the movie a chance, but the genre itself  a chance.

7/10

Cheers,

The Netflix Martyr