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Released By: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Released On: 08/30/2011
Director: Nick Tomnay
Cast: David Hyde Pierce, Clayne Crawford
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The Film:
Some would say that Director Nick Tomnay must have been smoking some pretty serious stuff when he approved the casting of David Hyde Pierce in his first feature film, The Perfect Host. Primarily known as Kelsey Grammer's dainty brother Niles on the hit show “Frasierâ€, Hyde Pierce isn't the first person who comes to mind when picturing a mentally unstable psychopath. And although his performance starts off with a few misfires and the squeal of rusty gears unlocking, by the end there can be no doubt that he was the perfect choice.
Developed from Tomnay's short film, “The Hostâ€, The Perfect Host tells the story of John Taylor (played by TV actor Clayne Crawford), who has just robbed a bank and been wounded in the process. Needing to get off of the streets of L.A., he cons his way into the stately manor of Warwick Wilson (Hyde Pierce) by pretending to have a mutual friend. Wilson is reluctant at first, but invites John in to have some wine while he prepares a meal for a dinner party happening later that night. Unfortunately for Taylor, a poorly-timed news broadcast about the bank robbery gives him away, and he's forced to get aggressive, taking Warwick hostage.
What John doesn't know is that Warwick isn't as frail and Niles Crane-ish as he seems. Drinking the red wine proves to be a bad idea, and John loses consciousness, only to awake tied up at the dinner table…with the “dinner party†in full-swing. And it's definitely not your average dinner party; this one has torture, snuffy scrapbooks, and an 8mm slice-and-dice, with a healthy dose of bludgeoning and mental anguish. To give away too much more of the story would be to spoil it, but it can be said that John would've been much better off picking another house…any other house…to lay low in.
The Perfect Host is a surprisingly good film for a number of reasons. The acting is solid, from Hyde Pierce as the whackjob homeowner, to Crawford as the villain-turned-victim, all the way down to the bit players. Secondly, Tomnay's direction keeps everything moving along at a pretty brisk pace, though it does pause and linger where it matters; such as the inspired dance routine involving the Car Wash soundtrack. Interspersed with the current goings-on are a number of flashbacks, but Tomnay doesn't allow these to bog down the film…rather, they enhance the story and help develop the characters. Although the film did start to dwindle and lose focus slightly toward the end, in what seemed to be an effort to add as many twists as possible, The Perfect Host was an overall enjoyable viewing experience.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Magnolia Home Entertainment brings The Perfect Host to blu-ray with a 1.78:1 transfer, and it looks fantastic. The black levels are solid, and the variety of colour schemes used to make up the film come through nicely. You won't find any noticeable artifacts, and the picture is nice and crisp throughout. Likewise, the DTS-HD MA 5.1 track is well-mixed and presented, making liberal use of the surrounds when necessary, and taking advantage of the low frequencies when called for.
There are a few extras on the disc as well, some of more interest than others. First up is The Making Of With Writer/Director Nick Tomnay, which runs just over 11 minutes. The featurette talks about making the short film “The Host†into a feature-length film and shows scene comparisons, and also briefly discusses the casting of David Hyde Pierce.
HDNet: A Look at The Perfect Host primarily consists of an interview with David Hyde Pierce in which he describes the plot of the film, and it runs almost 5 minutes.
A Theatrical Trailer and 4 other trailers from Magnolia are also included.
The Final Word:
It's not perfect, and it's not going to rock your world with ingenuity, but The Perfect Host does have some cool twists and turns and great performances.
Click on the images below for full size Blu-ray screen caps!
