Host review – surprisingly effective Zoom-based horror

A lean, nasty little at-home chiller makes the most of its limitations as a group of friends decide to perform a seance during the pandemic

When it comes to films and shows made during the global pandemic, there's a fine line between ingenuity and desperation. We're all still trapped in some way and while for many of us, that trap might have increased in scale in recent weeks, it remains a trap nonetheless. For directors, at least in some parts of the world, it's starting to expand considerably but many are still stuck with making the best of very little, armed with just the most basic technology. The limitations they face recall those of the found-footage era, particularly the sub-subgenre of films that took place entirely within laptop screens, such as Unfriended and Searching. But those restrictions were self-inflicted, not forced. In the frantic rush to keep busy and keep profitable, we're seeing a flood of lazy made-at-home productions that will be forgotten whenever things go back to some sort of normal.

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