The Most Overlooked Thriller Of The Past Decade Is Getting A Massive Upgrade

Generally, when one is at a film festival, the goal is to see new movies. Part of the appeal of film festivals seeing movies that either might not come out for months, may only go to streaming, or worse yet, never secure a release at all. But every so often, an anniversary or special screening of a cult classic is worth carving out time for. That happened at this year's Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, when a brand new 4K restoration of director Adam Wingard's "The Guest" debuted for the first time anywhere. I'm here to say that this wildly underseen thriller has never looked better.

For those who may not be familiar with "The Guest," the film stars Dan Stevens (Disney's 2017 "Beauty and the Beast," FX's "Legion") as a soldier who shows up on an unsuspecting family's doorstep claiming to be a friend of their fallen son who gave his life in the military. He soon becomes like an adopted family member and makes himself known around town, in no small part thanks to his mysterious charm and no-nonsense attitude. But when a sting of deadly events begins to plague the tiny town, the daughter of the family (Maika Monroe) begins looking into his past. Things get wild as hell from there.

This served as Wingard's feature follow-up to his 2013 breakout hit slasher "You're Next." The film once again teamed him with writer Simon Barrett. Unfortunately, when the film hit theaters in 2014, it was met with a muted response, pulling in less than $3 million at the box office. Despite stellar reviews in its day and a filmmaking team coming off of an acclaimed hit, this one just couldn't find an audience in its day, for whatever reason. But now it might have a second chance at greatness.

Mercifully, the cream has found a way to rise to the top, and this one has become something of a cult favorite. That's why Picturehouse have let Wingard and Barrett give it new life with this frankly brilliant 4K restoration. Admittedly, I hadn't seen the film in some time, and I never had the good fortune of seeing it on the big screen before Fantastic Fest. That said, it looked downright stunning. This new 4K paint job might be just the thing to open this hugely impressive thriller up to a whole new audience.

The folks at Second Sight Films released "The Guest" on 4K back in 2021. This, however, is a new restoration altogether. Based on what Barrett had to say ahead of the screening, it sounds very much like he and Wingard were more directly involved, fixing things with the color and other elements of the film that had bothered them over the years. Mind you, this was a low-budget affair made for just $5 million in its day, so that doesn't leave a lot of time to linger in the pursuit of perfection.

I'm also happy to say though that this isn't a situation like George Lucas changing the original "Star Wars" trilogy when the 1997 "Special Editions" arrived. For those who have seen it, it's 100% the same movie, just with some polish that feels in line with everything that Wingard captured a decade ago. If anything, this new 4K restoration speaks volumes about the respect this film has earned in the years since its original release. This feels like a brand new film all over again. 

Thrilling, mysterious, darkly funny, superbly acted. It's got action. It's got slasher horror vibes. It's got a killer, sexy synth-heavy soundtrack. It's the kind of movie so many people seem to be begging for, or say that Hollywood never makes. Well, Wingard did make one, and audiences now have a chance to make up for missing this one when it first came around.

There's so much to love about the film. Dan Stevens is dangerously charming as David. For my money, he should probably be one of the biggest leading me in the world. Coming off the heels of "It Follows," Monroe asserted herself firmly as a talent to watch with this one. She did so again this year with "Longlegs." Wingard also proved himself as a man who can get the most out of what's on the page, be it in a $5 million high-concept thriller or a $150 million blockbuster. Barrett also knows his way around a keyboard because when you're making a movie for this amount of money, the script has to sing or it just won't work. This script sings. It's tough to find a bone to pick with the movie as it exists.

Wingard has gone on to have an impressive career in the aftermath of this film. He directed both "Godzilla vs. Kong" and this year's "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire," which reunited him with Stevens. He also directed 2016's "Blair Witch" which was, for my money, wildly underrated as well. But for all of the big movies Wingard has been associated with, "The Guest" may well be his finest hour to date. Who knows? Maybe this will lead to "The Guest 2" finally happening. 

Regardless, my sincere hope is that this new 4K version gets people talking about "The Guest" again, and the movie ends up more people's radar. Because it's not imperative that anyone reading this seek out the latest 4K version of the film. Does it look great? You bet your ass it does. But this movie has kicked ass since the day it hit theaters 10 years ago. Any version of it you find, be it on Blu-ray or from a streamer, is going to kick ass. It's going to be worth your time. I write this, pounding the keys with intention, as if to shake you with love, dear reader, begging you to enrich your life by watching this movie if you never have. For those who have, this restoration is going to be the perfect excuse to revisit this banger.

No word yet on when this new 4K version of "The Guest" will be available for all to see, but stay tuned.