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Cast: Pollyanna McIntosh (AMC's The Walking Dead), Bryan Batt (AMC's Mad Men), Lauryn Canny (TV's Amber), Nora-Jane Noone (The Descent), Cooper Andrews (The Walking Dead)
A couple checks into a vacation rental, only to find that the anonymous host likes to play games on its guests.
'Dear Guest' tells the story of Jules and Maria, a couple who have rented a beautiful home for their vacation. As the film opens the two are arriving at the home and you can sense that it is a much needed vacation because there seems to be a little bit of tension between the two of them.
Once inside Jules goes upstairs to check out the bedroom while Maria stays down to open a bottle of wine. When Maria asks Jules if she brought in her laptop she gets no reply so she decides to go out to get it herself but she soon finds out she cannot get out of the house. That is when Maria finds the first card entitled, Dear Guest.
This is where the torment begins for couple. the 11 minute Short Film was written and directed by Megan Freels Johnston, best known for her suburban nightmare "The Ice Cream Truck" and her break up film noir "Rebound." She does an amazing job getting right to the point and keeping the audience in the dark as you wait anxiously to find out what is going to happen.
And that brings me to the one thing I didn't like about the film, it leaves the audience hanging without giving any closure. Now do not get me wrong I loved the film and was left to think about it and was also left to think what the final shot might have meant.
'Dear Guest' was not only led by a female film maker but it also has two powerful female leads in Ashley Bell (The Last Exorcism) and Noureen DeWulf (Good Girls) who both give outstanding performances. Just in time for Halloween, this bite-sized horror film is available now on Vimeo on Demand and will be streaming on YouTube and Amazon this weekend! DEAR GUEST premiered at the Monaco International Film Festival earlier this year, where it drew comparisons to Hitchcock and The Twilight Zone. I loved this Short Film that has Woman-power all over it.
It is also jammed pack with tension, mystery and the sense of being trapped. I highly recommend checking out this gem of a thriller.
Released by Look At Me Films
***** Out Of *****
Dear Guest Teaser from Look At Me Films on Vimeo.