The Guest (2016) (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Taiwan Version) DVD Region 3

Leon Lai plays Zheng Kai, a sales manager whose life and career take a downturn after he's forced to take the blame for a mistake made by a colleague at work. Desperate to try and still hold onto the luxury apartment he shares with his fiancée Linlin (Han Chae-young), he lies to her about losing his job, and tries to come up with a way to pay off his debts. After getting drunk one night he meets an illegal taxi driver (Geng Le), telling him his many troubles and woes, which the strange man seems to take as meaning that the two are now best friends. Things get worse for Kai after his former boss turns up dead, the police treating him as the main suspect, and it quickly becomes clear that the driver has no intention of leaving him alone.

Given the Chinese censors' notoriously strict stance on genre cinema, it's always interesting to see how suspense films from the country tackle their subject matter, and it's pleasantly surprising to find The Guest a reasonably full-blooded offering. The presence of Im Dae-woong and Ahn Byung-ki is likely the main reason for this, the two being long-standing horror stalwarts, and their experience and knowledge of what makes such films tick lifts it above other recent more awkward Chinese stabs at exploitation. Clocking in at a short and fast-moving hour and a half, the film never wastes any time as it notches up the tension, and though predictable to a fault, it's nevertheless entertaining and manages some respectable shriek scenes and gruesome action. Geng Le is effectively creepy in the villain role, and while the film isn't exactly believable it's undemanding fun, playing out in a similar manner to that of Ahn Byung-ki's previous popcorn horror hits like Phone, Bunshinaba and others.

Where the film falls down somewhat is oddly enough through its lead performances. Leon Lai really doesn’t seem to have put much effort into his role, and though the film does generate some sympathy for Zheng Kai, this is mainly down to his unfortunate financial situation than the actor’s turn. Lai certainly lacks the charisma he's shown in other films, and as a result his relationship here with Han Chae-young never convinces or has the kind of emotional impact that would have added further tension to the last act. To be fair to Han, she's let down by a markedly under-written part, Linlin having very little to do other than providing eye candy and falling into peril an opportune moments. The film would definitely have benefitted from more of a focus on Geng Le's character, though as things stand it’s nowhere near as dramatic as it could have been.

Whether this is likely to bother horror fans is another question of course, and The Guest is an above average shocker which earns an extra mark or so for serving up far more chills than the majority of other Chinese genre films. Despite being overly-familiar and rather by the numbers, Im Dae-woong and Ahn Byung-ki never let things get dull, doing a solid job and keeping the film enjoyable and succeeding in its modest ambitions.

by James Mudge - EasternKicks.com