Host is a Shudder Original that has just popped up on iTunes rental so I gave it a shot. To be clear, Host is not The Host, The Host, or Hosts. Nor is it Unfriended, Searching, Friend Request, Dark Web, or Countdown…. all similar found-footage/live cam films just like Host. It’s its own original film that looks like a bunch of other films and is, in fact, not original except for the story of its production. It was filmed during quarantine by actors on their own webcams so credit to the technical angle, including practical effects.

A bunch of friends join a Zoom call under quarantine and decide the best thing to do is hold a virtual séance. Which means they promptly summon a demon. Silly rabbits.

Some day someone making a found footage film will realize that the opening 10-15 minutes of such films don’t have to confuse “normal” for “boring”. Like almost every such film, their attempt at showing “normal” life results in boring, bland characters who we have to struggle to care for or follow before whatever crisis occurs (odds of having the same non-ending ending: high).

Host follows the same trends and only gets interesting half-way through the less than one hour runtime… And, to be fair, some of the jump scares and imagery is pretty good and does save the movie.

So I can give it a partial recommendation to horror movie fans or fans of low budget film-making (or, I suppose, super fans of Zoom). It doesn’t commit any greater crime than other found footage or spook show flicks so if those kinds of flicks work for ya, it’s watchable.

Score: 75