Dear Guest

Jules (Noureen DeWulf) and Maria (Ashley Bell) have been needing some time alone together for a while, a chance to escape from the pressures of work. The place they booked exceeds their expectations. It's bright and spacious, has a pool and is in a quiet location surrounded by trees. When Maria tries to open the door to go back out again and it sticks, it seems like a minor inconvenience. She calls for Jules to give her a hand. But Jules is nowhere to be found. Then she sees the note.

The latest work from The Ice Cream Truck director Megan Freels Johnston, this feels less like a short and more like a pitch, but it stands well enough in its own right. Fans of The Last Exorcism will be delighted to see that Bell has successfully made the transition into adult acting, using those still haunted-looking eyes to great effect in a very different role. DeWulf doesn't get as much to do but together they capture the chemistry of the central relationship perfectly, presenting two characters who have been together long enough to start taking one another for granted but not long enough to stop being surprised by their feelings for one another

With cinematography by Johnston regular Stephen Tringali, the film is beautifully polished, capturing that holiday brochure veneer that so often conceals sources of disappointment. A stronger term might be needed, however, for what Maria and Jools go through, caught up in a stranger's game. The central trope is a familiar one but Johnston's characters should just enough unwillingness to play along to keep it interesting, and although we get only a small taste of what their captor seems to have in store for them, we don't doubt their ability to keep coming up with solutions, This shifts the focus from simple horror at each challenging situation to a sense of outrage that they are being treated this way, and horror at how easily it seems to happen to women.

Narratively spare but pacy and smart, Dear Guest is a 'what if?' story in keeping with the traditions of The Twilight Zone and Hammer House Of Horror. Packed with talent, it's just the thing to keep fans going whilst they await Johnston's next two features.