The Perfect Host

A botched bank robbery leaves John Taylor injured and hunted by police across Los Angeles. Looking for somewhere to hide, he talks his way into the home of Warwick Wilson, a well-off man he has never met, by claiming to be a friend of a friend who has just been mugged. Warwick, meanwhile, is preparing a dinner party, with the table set and the food timed to be ready at exactly half past eight. John soon decides to take his unwilling host captive, but Warwick has no intention of letting his evening fall apart. In this house, the intruder turns out to be the guest of honour, and the night takes turns that neither man could have predicted.

Nicholas Tomnay wrote and directed the film, which was his first feature and was followed years later by What You Wish For. It is a comedy, crime and thriller picture running just over an hour and a half, made in the United States by Splendid Film. David Hyde Pierce plays Warwick, with Clayne Crawford as John, and supporting roles filled by Nathaniel Parker, Megahn Perry, Helen Reddy and Cooper Barnes.

Audience responses are moderately positive but divided: on IMDb it holds 6.7 out of 10 from roughly 31,000 votes, and on TMDB it sits at 6.4 from around 480 votes. A critics' rating of 5.1 from 32 reviews places professional opinion somewhat below the general audience reaction.