The Perfect Host
| The Perfect Host | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Nick Tomnay |
| Starring | David Hyde Pierce Clayne Crawford |
| Cinematography | John Brawley |
| Edited by | Nick Tomnay |
| Music by | John Swihart |
| Distributed by | Magnolia Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | Template:Film US |
| Language | English |
| Budget | 1 Million |
The Perfect Host is a 2010 dark comedy / thriller written and directed by Nick Tomnay. The film stars David Hyde Pierce and Clayne Crawford. Filming took place in Los Angeles, California. It was photographed in 17 days. Editing took place in New York.
Synopsis
John Taylor (Clayne Crawford) is on the lam after robbing a bank and stealing $300,000. However his escape is hindered by the fact that the teller Simmone Demarchi (Megahn Perry) had recognized him from seemingly a previous romantic fling that went nowhere and looked to be a means for Taylor to case the bank for the robbery. With his name and description out, Taylor seeks refuge and comes across the home of Warwick Wilson (David Hyde Pierce) whom he convinces he is a friend of a lady friend of Wilson's who allows Taylor to come into his home. Warwick says that he is planning a dinner party, but becomes suspicious of Taylor's stories and his trips to the restroom to mend a wounded foot. When it comes out on the radio that he is the man wanted and that the teller had given the authorities his information, he turns on Wilson, threatening to kill him unless he puts up refuge for the night. But Warwick had planned ahead and laced a bottle of red wine that Taylor had been drinking heavily from with a narcotic that knocks him out instead.
John comes to only to discover that Warwick is psychotically unhinged, his dinner party is full of guests that only Warwick can see and interact with. Several interactions between his guests and Taylor often end up in physical or emotional embarrassment as he becomes the life of the party. But he becomes terrified when Warwick shows him a scrap album of a previous guest, pictures taken at midnight, 3am and 6am. The latter showing him lying dead of a slit throat in the bath tub. Not wanting to be subject to this depraved photo album, Taylor agrees to partake in the party, which through a mixture of debilitating elixirs and close calls with Warwick's Jehovah's Witness neighbor he makes it past the 3am mark relatively unharmed. He discovers that John's fake contact to Warwick is another one of his personalities, he tries to bond with him, meanwhile encountering flashbacks with him and Simone in a happy relationship, though her health seems to be faltering. Warwick refuses any connection, and Taylor challenges him to a game of chess which he deceptively excels at; in exchange for his freedom should he win. He wins, but a taunt from Warwick throws him right back into captivity. The next morning, John finds himself outside by the garbage, prosthetic makeup on his body making it look like he was cut up and his throat slashed, revealing yet another psychotic game from Wilson. Taylor leaves, but a Detective Morton (Nathaniel Parker) who has been investigating Taylor's case and reveals that Wilson is a police detective as well.
Taylor confronts Simone in the process of taking his stolen money and running. She reveals that she faked her illness to trick him into stealing the money for her. Taylor leaves her, taking the money and she is soon arrested by police who have been trailing her. Taylor is almost home free when the parking attendant turns out to be Warwick who exchanges most of the stolen money for a few thousand dollars and Taylor's freedom. Some months later though, Morton gets a letter from Mexico containing a polaroid taken at Warwick's party with him and Taylor together. Having heard that Warwick had never met Taylor this rouses his suspicions, and after failed attempts to convince the detective to hide the circumstantial evidence, Warwick offers to keep their friendship alive and invites him to dinner, which Morton agrees. As Warwick is leaving his office, he finds himself followed by uniformed versions of his multiple personalities, smiling at the prospect of another dinner party.
Cast
- David Hyde Pierce as Warwick Wilson
- Clayne Crawford as John Taylor
- Nathaniel Parker as Det. Morton
- Helen Reddy as Cathy Knight
- Megahn Perry as Simone Demarchi
- Joseph Will as Det. Valdez
Release
The film premiered in January 2010 at the Sundance Film Festival. The Perfect Host played at several other film festivals, including Fantasia 2010 and Sitges 2010. It won the audience award at Amsterdam's Imagine Film Festival 2011. The film was released theatrically in the United States on July 1, 2011 in a limited release.
Reception
Critical reaction
So far, The Perfect Host has received mostly mixed reviews from critics. The film has a 36% approval rating on the review-aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 25 reviews with an average rating of 4.6/10.[1] While some were critical of the film's plot structure and length, even the negative reviews praised Pierce and Crawford's performances.
References
- ^ "The Perfect Host – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.