10 Horror Movie Concepts That Should NEVER Work (But Do)
2. Host
Given that it is now known for how well it pulled the gimmick off, you may initially be hesitant to accept that, on a base level, the concept of Host sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
Mixing the social media-focussed social commentary subgenre with the supernatural one seems like the kind of endeavour where neither gets a fair representation. Essentially taking Paranormal Activity and having it play out live over a Zoom chat, Host knew it was opening itself up to critique.
Video calls are the ultimate symbol of lockdown life, and for the most part we don’t want to think about them anymore than we have to. Making a whole film through the medium and having it be something that people enjoyed was no small feat.
The genre-bending, lockdown-phobic odds were against it, but clearly something about Host worked incredibly well. The film was praised for the chemistry between the actors, its writing, and its achievements in production given the huge limitations.
In the end maybe that’s what made it work, they went back to basics with practical effects for some of the scares, put huge care into their home lighting and stunts and in the end reaped the great product they sewed.