The Guest

The Peterson family is still grieving the death of their son Caleb, a soldier killed in Afghanistan, when a polite stranger named David arrives at their door. He says he served with Caleb and was close to him, and Laura Peterson invites him to stay for a few days. David settles easily into the household: he shares stories about Caleb, drinks beer with the father, helps the bullied younger son Luke deal with the boys harassing him, and charms daughter Anna. Before long, the family begins to suspect that their guest is not the man he claims to be, and that the deaths and violent incidents happening around them are tied to his presence.

Adam Wingard directed the film from a screenplay by Simon Barrett, with Keith Calder and Jessica Wu producing for HanWay Films and Snoot Entertainment. It followed Wingard's earlier features, including You're Next and V/H/S, and preceded Blair Witch, Death Note, Godzilla vs. Kong and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire in his filmography. Dan Stevens plays David, alongside Maika Monroe, Leland Orser, Sheila Kelley, Brendan Meyer and Chase Williamson. The production cost about 5 million dollars and took roughly 3 million dollars worldwide.

On TMDB, the film holds a rating of 6.6 out of 10 based on a few thousand votes, a mixed-to-positive audience response.