It’s actually pretty much evident right from the start that there’s a lot more to David - who suddenly stands in front of the door of the grieving Peterson family, pretending to be the best friend of the son they’ve just lost in Afghanistan - than his handsome looks and über-polite Midwestern good boy persona, but fuck it, every distraction from having to deal with the loss of their loved one is very much welcome.

What could be the opening chapter of a dark psychological study about wishful thinking, make-believes and the impossibility of dealing with damage the right way, turns into something much more entertaining in the hands of the always genre-binding director/writer duo Adam Wingard and Simon Barret. While the first half is a masterful study of how a stranger is able to ingratiate himself into an unknown home, the story surprisingly evolves into a (very) dark comedy and cheeky tribute to 80s action flicks later on. On paper “The Guest“ should be doomed to fail, but in actuality it is a highly enjoyable success thanks to its enthusiastic creators and strong performance from forthcoming leading man Dan Stevens as the eponymous guest.