Authors, journalists, and writers of any kind have been Hollywood’s occupation of choice for its protagonists forever. Recently however, writers have taken a backseat to a burgeoning usurper – the influencer. It’s a sign of the changing times; the modern world has become obsessed with those that document their lives online and so it makes sense that they would become a staple of the film landscape. The latest film to thrust these types of characters onto the screen is Superhost, the new movie from filmmaker Brandon Christensen.
Superhost forms Christensen’s third feature, and is somewhat of a departure from what has come before. His previous films, Still/Born and Z, are two films that strongly identify themselves as super scary horror films. Each of them is filled with some ingenious jump scares and chiling demonic creations, and has proven Christensen to be an interesting new genre voice to watch. Whilst still fitting under the horror umbrella, Superhost is a much lighter film that leans into the same brand of dark humour as the likes of American Psycho. The story follows travel vlogging couple Claire (Sara Canning) and Teddy (Osric Chau) as they visit the latest Air BnB on their list. The pair’s content has recently started to stagnate, and with viewers unsubscribing, the duo are in desperate need of a fresh angle. Their encounter with their overly friendly host Rebecca (Gracie Gillam) presents them with a perfect opportunity to create something a little different, but Rebecca isn’t someone to mess with.
Gracie Gillam is excellent as Rebecca. The actor’s performance is a compelling mixture of two Stephen King characters: Pennywise and Annie Wilkes. Gillam perfectly encaptures that coiled spring aspect of Wilkes as well as the unhinged madness of the maniacal clown. From the moment Rebecca is introduced, it’s clear that there’s something not quite right with her. She comes on strong to both Claire and Teddy, being the most overly friendly host in the history of hosts. From there on, her ever increasing appearances spark unease within the couple and by the climax, Gillam lets rip Rebecca’s demonic side and gives an insanely good turn.
Rebecca is such a standout character that she almost outshines the pairing of Claire and Teddy. With lesser actors playing Claire and Teddy, Gillam may have stolen Superhost outright, but fortunately Sara Canning and Osric Chau hold their ground. The pairing of the two is an interesting one and the dynamics of their couple are not quite as one would expect. What makes them intriguing is that the audience gets to see not one, but two versions of them. There’s the real Claire and Teddy and then there is their online personas. When they switch on their screen selves, the pair are not too dissimilar to their host as they plaster false smiles on their faces and start to talk louder and more animated. The real versions of them by contrast are more subdued and treat their vlogging as the job it is. Teddy seems less interested than Claire and the unbalanced opinions on their career cause some great friction.
The film was shot under pandemic restrictions, but that plays into Superhost’s strengths. The need to keep numbers limited means that the film only has four characters in total, helping to reinforce those feelings of isolation generated by the remote setting. With the only character outside of Claire, Teddy and Rebecca being someone that has bad blood with the couple, it really sells just how alone the two of them are. The small cast ramps up the sensation of claustrophobia and once Claire and Teddy’s relationship begins to splinter as Rebecca’s psyche starts to shatter, it creates the perfect pressure cooker environment.
The shift away from terrorising audiences to simply trying to unsettle them within a fairly standard scenario has a lot of potential. For the most part Superhost succeeds at achieving Christensen’s intentions, but in spite of some great chemistry, performances, and an excellently executed appearance by indie horror royalty Barbara Crampton, it doesn’t quite live up to what has come before. Whereas Z did some inspired things within what could have been a painfully by-the-book horror, here the envelope isn’t pushed quite far enough to be anything other than a fun night in front of the TV. That’s all one can realistically ask from a film and it doesn’t dilute Christensen’s skill as there’s still plenty of promise on display. The perfect vessel for the talented Gracie Gillam, Superhost presents a wickedly wry and uneasy stay in the country that will make you think twice before booking your next Air BnB.
Superhost
Summary
An electric performance from Gracie Gillam keeps the viewer glued to their seats in this clever take on the burgeoning vlogger in peril trend.
Superhost is available on Blu-ray, DVD and digital from 4th April via Acorn Media International.
