Freeview film of the day: The Guest
The folks down at Downton would think it frightfully bad form when creepy Dan Stevens turns up at the home of a dead soldier claiming to be a former comrade.
The Guest ★★★★
9.00-11.05pm Film Four
Leaving hit TV show Downton Abbey while he was hot, Dan Stevens seems to have timed it brilliantly. He hung up heir- presumptive Matthew Crawley’s wing collar after season three and reinvented himself, moving to New York, doing Broadway and picking an indie home-invasion thriller to relaunch his brand. The Guest is a low-budget shocker from director-on-the-rise Adam Wingard (You’re Next, Blair Witch), and sees Stevens turn up on the doorstep of the Peterson family, buff, tanned and sensitive, claiming to be the pal of their son killed in Afghanistan. He insinuates himself into their lives, notably bullied younger son Luke (Brendan Meyer), whom he arms. We know there’s something wrong, but Stevens’s magnetism is powerful and gets us through to the schlocky dénouement. Currently in X-Men TV spin-off Legion, he’s in cinemas in March as the star of the live-action Beauty and the Beast. He’s unstoppable.
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