Your Host – Movie Review (1/5)

YOUR HOST is a new slasher with a serial killer plot and a revenge story. It feels like a movie made from past horror hits, which was disappointing. The production quality, however, is very impressive. World Premiere at FrightFest 2025. Read our full Your Host movie review here!

YOUR HOST is a horror slasher that sounds very interesting on paper, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. We’re watching a serial killer choose his victims and then putting them through the wringer by making them think they can survive.

It’s obvious from the opening scene that he is no Jigsaw.

This isn’t about teaching his victims a lesson. He wants revenge and wants his victims to suffer. Both psychologically and physically. It’s brutal and efficient, but the movie isn’t good. It just could have been.

Continue reading our Your Host movie review below. The movie will have its World Premiere at FrightFest 2025 on August 22, 2025.

Killing as a game

With Your Host, the title refers to the serial killer, who kills his victims in a very creative and elaborate way. He pretends to be the host of a game show where his intended victims are contestants.

The victims in this particular round are four 23-year-old friends. Well, according to the plot, because honestly, the “friends” part isn’t obvious at all. I’ll get back to that later.

In any case, the game show host character reminded me of The Ringmaster from the Danish horror movie (org. title: Finale) due to his flamboyant ways and focus on entertainment. And yes, Jigsaw is another obvious comparison.

Whatever familiar character or plot you want to compare Your Host to, the soon-to-be victims end up in a gameshow-inspired torture room. The “games” will be very creative and extremely bloody.

Nobody is likable

With Your Host, the biggest issue for me was the fact that nobody is likable, and I did not buy or understand their friendship at all. In fact, even the characters in the movie don’t seem to like each other and comment that they’re not truly friends.

Why are they spending time together? Do they all suck so badly that they can’t do better?!

It seems like the strangest setup, and even the fact that all four end up in the “killer game show” doesn’t ultimately make sense. Not when the origin story of the game show killer and his revenge motive is revealed.

Finally, and worst of all, one of the characters made absolutely no sense to me. This person’s driving force has to do with love of animals (and, hello, do I relate to that!), but somehow their moral compass is also the opposite?!

You’ll see… especially if you love animals.

Characters or caricatures?

This leads me to another issue with Your Host: The characters mostly end up being caricatures. Even those characters that begin as nuanced and relatable will soon make choices or act in ways that seem so exaggerated that it’s kitsch (at best) or just off.

Your Host stars iconic horror actor and Academy Award-nominee, Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Hypnotic) in the title role.

As the “players” in the horrible game show, we see Ella-Rae Smith (The Stranger, My Bloody Galentine), Jamie Flatters (Black Dog), David Angland (The Devil’s Hour), and Joelle Rae (Get Even).

Most of the actors do what they can with what they’re given, but the story is a real mess, and the characters are extremely underdeveloped. It’s a shame because if I don’t care about the characters, then I don’t care what happens to the characters.

Your Host will have its World Premiere at FrightFest

This is directed by DW Medoff, who previously wrote and directed I Will Never Leave You Alone. A movie I much preferred to this one, which he did not write. The screenplay comes from Joey Miller, who has no previous credits on his IMDb page.

It also feels like the script should’ve been worked over a bit more. And don’t even get me started on the story that sets everything in motion. One that would have you believe women are liars, men are victims, and everyone should be tortured.

However, as revealed by the final scene, women are also victims, and some men are the creeps women claim they are. It’s a whole mess of a story that wants to both root for women and shame them while making men victims and villains.

Yet it only ever manages to point fingers and never truly dives into any of it. A missed opportunity. If you go down that road, you’d better be damn clear about what you’re saying. Your Host wants to say everything and nothing at the same time.

I was expecting something much better than Your Host ultimately offered. With many of the choices made, this was more of a kitsch horror movie than I ever expected. Instead of the origin story making it darker, it just made it less credible.

YOUR HOST will have its World Premiere at FrightFest on August 22, 2025. It will also be available on VOD (rental & purchase) on October 14.

Details

Director: DW Medoff
Writer: Joey Miller
Cast: Jackie Earle Haley, Ella-Rae Smith, Jamie Flatters, David Angland & Joelle Rae