The Perfect Host

Plot synopsis:
Fugitive John Taylor flees an initially unspecified crime, with a wounded foot. Flashbacks and news reports reveal he robbed a bank in collusion with his girlfriend Simone, who was a teller in the bank. He stops in a convenience store for some disinfectant, just moments before it is robbed; he manages to turn the tables on the robber, but she gets away with his wallet. The store's TV identifies John and his car, so he quickly ditches it, proceeding on foot into an expensive neighborhood. With a sob story about being mugged, he gains entry to the house of Warwick Wilson. John poses as a friend of one of Warwick's friends after he found a postcard in the mailbox outside from a woman named "Julia". Warwick is preparing a dinner party. John makes small talk and drinks red wine while trying to figure out his next move and how to keep his lies from being found out. When the radio news makes an announcement about John, he angrily shushes Warwick, revealing himself. John threatens to kill Warwick if he doesn't cooperate and forces him to call his guests to cancel. Suddenly, John keels over; the wine has been drugged, and Warwick is not the person he seems to be.
When John bounces back, he finds himself tied to a chair, and the party is in full swing—but all the guests Warwick is interacting with are figments of Warwick's imagination. Warwick takes a Polaroid of John and reveals a scrapbook of his past dinner parties, each with a murder victim and a timeline of things Warwick is going to do to him. As the night wears on, John is further terrorized, drugged, and incapacitated, learning various things about Warwick's strange lifestyle. A neighbour of Warwick, a prying old lady (whom John also tried to trick into letting him into her house earlier) hears John moaning and goes over to investigate. Warwick is able to trick her into leaving, blaming a drunk dinner guest for the noise. John also discovers that Julia is yet another figment of Warwick's imagination when he sees Warwick writing a postcard to himself from Julia.
Later, John and Warwick play chess, with the prize being John's freedom; John, who is an excellent player, wins. Warwick lets John go as agreed, but taunts him before he can leave, calling him worthless and secondary. John takes the tantō (Japanese sword) on display in Warwick's living room and stabs him with it, but it proves to be a collapsible prop knife, and so Warwick knocks John out. When he once more regains consciousness, they are in Warwick's bathroom, and Warwick seemingly slits John's throat.
John's body is left outside with the trash. He wakes up and discovers that most of his injuries are fake; Warwick is a master of movie makeup. L.A.P.D. Detective Morton (Nathaniel Parker) arrives at Warwick's door – Warwick is actually a police lieutenant, who is working on John's robbery. Meanwhile, John becomes suspicious of girlfriend Simone and discovers she made alternative travel arrangements out of Los Angeles that don't include him. John locates Simone in a parking garage, taking her switch car and the money, leaving her to be captured by the detectives. Warwick stops John from leaving and blackmails him for the money, leaving him with only a couple thousand to get past the Mexican border.
A couple of months later, Detective Morton receives a letter from Mexico – it's a Polaroid from the dinner party of Warwick and John together. A suspicious Morton confronts Warwick, who blows it off; but, when Morton persists, Warwick invites Morton to a dinner party and asks what type of wine he would like. Warwick then walks out of the office - along with his imaginary friends - with a smirk on his face.

Tags: plot twist, psychedelic, flashback

Review:
Basically, David Hyde Pierce plays his Frasier character Nils as coming from the dark side.
He's whacked out all right, but only slowly do we discover just how whacked and out he is!The Perfect Host is not a horror film, although it's easy to see how it could have been made as one, but a psychological, cat and mouse thriller of tables (dining tables?) turning and being turned as small time hood meets major lunatic!Given the vast majority of the film takes place in one setting, the film does come over as a bit staged at times, but that also adds another dimension because staging itself plays a big part.
After all, Warwick Wilson (David Hyde Pierce's character) is staging the perfect dinner party and is not about to let some uncultivated intruder spoil things.And then come the twists...The Perfect Host is a little film that slips under the radar, but if you enjoy good thrillers, want a different take on the home invasion genre, just enjoy watching David Hyde Pierce (and he is most watchable) being creepy, then it's well worth a look..
I am in total agreement with the only other reviewer here so far; this is a film that to describe too much about really would spoil the twists.The trailer even gives a bit too much away so if you have not seen it; trust me, if you have ON Demand and you enjoy Black Comedy have a go without watching the trailer.The entire plot twists and setup is absurd, but if you don't nitpick too much as I am wont to do you will have a great time watching two talented actors for a fast paced 90 minutes.I would have even rated this higher like a 9, but I didn't want the "incredibly surprised cause I had no expectations" factor to add too much to my numerical rating of this gem of a film..
The Perfect Host is a brilliant thriller about Warwick Wilson, a seemingly accommodating, middle-aged man, who loves hosting dinner parties for his unique group of friends.Criminal at large, John Taylor, cons his way into Warwick's home and has an unforgettable, albeit, surreal night, full of wine, music and dance.David Hyde Pierce and Clayne Crawford give superb performances.
and this one pleasantly surprised me, which is quite rare given that I've watched so many of them in the past.I gave it a 10/10 because it was purely brilliant (I'm over-using the word I know!) and it's the type of film I would definitely watch again.Oh one more thing, DO NOT watch the trailer/preview, it's such a spoiler, I actually watched the trailer AFTER I watched the film (as people had complained about it) and I'm so glad I did because most of the twists would've been spoilt for me if I had seen it before hand.
great film, David Hyde Pierce is brilliant & quite scary.
I would love to see Hyde Pierce play more nutter's in other films because he played the character so well.Clayne Crawford supports well & his character is likable as a petty criminal.Easy to watch, very cleverRED or WHITE wine????.
Surprisingly Warwick Wilson turns out to be THE PERFECT HOST.A must watch movie, that will blow your mind.
In my humble opinion this is a master piece in terms for a debut production!Title: The Perfect Host Directed by: Nick Tomney Starring: David Pierce, Clayne Crawford, Nathaniel Parker & Joseph Will Rated: R for language, some violent content and brief sexual material Rating: 07/10.
An very eccentric black comedy/thriller that's boost a bold, creepy and wickedly funny performance from David Hyde Pierce.
The movie goes down a pretty strange yet clever and suspenseful path that's similar to films like Swimming With Sharks, Hard Candy, Misery and An American Psycho but more on the comedy side.
There was never a dull moment in this film it was entertaining throughout yet disturbing in its theme and keeps you guessing what's real and what's not and how it's going to end and the movie is kind of a refreshing take on the whole home invasion, held hostage type of thrillers but instead of the intruder doing the dirty work it's the owner of the home and I love that twisted take but it never gets too bloody because it's more witty and clever than that.
Pierce Steals the Show in Nice Gem. Perfect Host, The (2010) *** (out of 4) Two-bit criminal John Taylor (Clayne Crawford) pulls off a bank robbery but soon his name and picture are all over the news so he must find a place to hide for the night.
He thinks he finds the perfect victim when he gets into the house of Warwick Wilson (David Hyde Pierce) but the robber soon realizes he's not the most dangerous person at this party.
I think it's clear that the movie wants to be another THE USUAL SUSPECTS because there is just one twist after another and the movie does a terrific job making the viewer feel off their guard because you never quite know where the film is going and once you figure it out it just takes another turn to throw you.
I thought what really made the film special is that the direction by Nick Tomnay just keeps the twists and turns coming at almost a poetic rate because there's a certain beauty to how everything plays out and it's really as if you're seeing some tango take place in front of your eyes.
Another major plus for me is that the film starts off with Crawford as the bad guy and Pierce as the good guy but throughout the movie they trade places and yet you can enjoy both characters.
With that said, THE PERFECT HOST is sadly going to get overlooked with all the blockbusters out there but hopefully people will give the film a chance as it's certainly a good little gem..
It's even got a couple of questionable plot holes, but the fact it, the film was just too damn enjoyable to let any of that bother me.Just like the big-screen adaptation of 'American Psycho's' success was down to Christian Bale's excellent (and psychotic) performance, 'The Perfect Host's' charm is completely down to David Hyde Pierce's character.
It is one of the cult type movies you will watch more than once.David Hyde Pierce was perfect for his part and Nathaniel Parker gave some good balance in it.
As it turns out, he would have been better off with the police, as Mr. Pierce's character has a night full of unexpected and undesirable events planned for his guest.The performances of the two leads are excellent, with Mr. Pierce showing the dark side we little expect from him.
David Hyde Pierce stars in this odd, twist-heavy home invasion thriller, in which he suddenly turns the tables on both a desperate assailant and the unsuspecting audience.
Pierce is very creepy in this movie and worth watching till twist ending.
The flashbacks to the bank robbery, which are jarringly revealed in the main body of the movie, would have been better placed in the first act, before Crawford and Hyde Pierce meet.
Having said that, the performances are good (particularly Hyde Pierce's), the central core of the movie is intriguing to watch, and writer/director Nick Tomnay has done a decent job on a limited budget.
Pierce can shake his groove thing :) Then I became bored............Too much back and forth with an idea which the viewer is smacked over the head with and then the introduction of characters which seemed to be a little contrived and forced because they were needed for the ending and not because there was any character development.If they had really explored the main characters this movie could have been excellent.
I expected David Hyde Pierce to be good but was surprised by how good Clayne is in this film.
The Perfect Host, being an independent film, intrigued me to begin with and no more than 15 minutes in I was in love and my preconceived notions of those who suggest movies may have changed forever...Okay, maybe not.This may be the best two person film I have ever watched, as David Hyde Pierce brilliantly makes the audience captive in his unorthodox style and character.
Not to be outdone, the relatively unknown Clayne Crawford (playing John Taylor), who plays the bank robber turned hostage, does quite well to hold his own in a ring so overly dominated by the performance of Mr. Pierce.
The Perfect Host, like many other Indie films, restores my faith in the film industry; I am reminded that there is still originality out there, ideas do happen, and great movies will be made with or without Hollywood's help..
I'd recommend The Perfect Host to those looking for an interesting film that throws a few surprises and has one hell of a performance from a cooky guy.
Pierce really shines through this film, and his dynamic with Crawford really makes for a movie with all sorts of twists and turns.
The doorbell rings and John Taylor, who has just robbed a bank and walked by Warwick Wilson's(Pierce's) house and by looking in the mailbox has assumed the identity of someone named on a postcard is able to con his way in.
A Criminal named John (Crawford), looking for a Hideout tries taking advantage of the wealthy and harmless Warwick (Hyde-Pierce).
Considering the character of Warwick has so many different emotions and sides to him, David Hyde Pierce took a role that would make or break film and nailed it.
Your average thriller movie ,Fascinating character by David Pierce how he kept his enticing attittude and catchy phrases, without him the movie would be much boring, The filmmaker tried to draw his audience's attention to very serious and significant matter about corruption and crime , which manifested at the last twenty minutes , illustrating the famous proverb "fox guarding the henhouse " it is real in our societies might be a reminder that psychopaths look no different than us , dress just like us and they also mgiht be in high positions in the government , watch out!
I only wish I could watch David Hyde Pierce star in more films like this.This truly is a hidden gem.
David Hyde Pierce absolutely kills his role as "the perfect host".
I will say no more what this involves but I was thoroughly involved and did chuckle a few times while feeling a little bit guilty at the same time I'm not much of a fan of FRASIER but from what I recall David Hyde Pierce's legendary role as Niles Crane isn't a million miles away from the idiosyncratic way he plays Warwick here .
David Hyde Pierce as Warwick Wilson and Clayne Crawford as John Taylor are equal to the task - both of the actors could be used more often in bearing roles.
I don't know if he wrote this movie with David Hyde Pierce in mind (although I'm pretty certain) or it was just good casting but from start to finish Pierce keeps audience members either gasping or laughing (sometimes simply gasping for air), as he stars, and makes this film equally enthralling and hysterical.
I do however believe the side story staring Clayne Crawford, despite injecting a certain seriousness and direction to the movie, draws upon Hollywood clichés and doesn't really bring much substance to the piece.The Perfect Host has it's faults for sure, but I would suggest it to the masses due to it's incredibly clever humour and an A* performance for David Hyde Pierce..
In order to lie low, Taylor cons his way into the house of Warwick Wilson (David Hyde Pierce) who is preparing for a dinner party.
Not all of the reveals are believable and the ending is far too tidy, but I could not help but enjoy "The Perfect Host." Made by a first time director, this movie radiates a sense of fun and free expression..
This film has a little bit of everything: a dark side, comedic relief, twists and turns, crime...and a gracious host (well-played by David Hyde Pierce)!
A criminal on the run (not Ray Liotta) cons his way into the wrong dinner party where the host (David Hyde Pierce) is anything but ordinary.This film, which I think went under the radar of most people (myself included) is a great showcase for Pierce.
While it takes place for less than a minute, it will forever change the way you look at Pierce and will make this film completely worth watching if nothing else does (though I think it has enough going for it either way)..
of an ending.David Hyde Pierce completely owns the movie plain and simple.
Co-star Clayne Crawford gives excellent support (and at the beginning you fully believe him to be the star of the movie and he is until Hyde Pierce starts pulling out the stops, although to Crawford's credit he never ever simply fades into the frame--he always registers as a presence which is important because you have to have someone on screen to react to and with Hyde Pierce.) If you're reading this you probably already know what the big twist is--but hot damn what a nice surprise it was to someone who didn't know or even see it coming---i think i only read 1 review beforehand and i was just lucky it was a small capsule review, one that did not go in-depth in plot summary thankfully.The last twenty or so minutes kind of bring all kinds of questions into play--questions that never really get answered but for what its worth the reason for the film's being, the reason for watching the film in the first place is in that middle hour--where David Hyde Pierce gets to completely own the film and for that reason alone you'll be entertained for sure..
What begins as a simple bank robbery gone bad, soon becomes a game of cat and mouse, where we don't know how far things will be pushed, how much we can tolerate, and it never goes outside the limits of good taste, but it challenges your perception of what normal and strange really is.In a tour-de-force acting turn, Hyde-Pierce gives us a look at his dark side, how a rather plain looking human being is perfectly capable of subjecting his "guest" to a rather different experience.
The Perfect Host, on first glance, appears to be one of the sort of movies I enjoy -- a psychological thriller matching two dangerous characters who are well matched antagonists engaged in a game of cat-and-mouse.
I really liked this movie because first, there is David Hyde Pierce.
We have a wanted criminal (bank robber), who ends up being the victim in another robbery, and then goes on to become a victim yet again of a man that he dupes into allowing him into his house.However, the game the "host" is playing goes on far too long - and then we start having other twists and turns until the plot is completely unbelievable and no longer really working at all.
I know of David Hyde Pierce, and that he's from the show 'Frasier', but I don't remember him in any movie that I've seen.
The problem is that the men are competing with each other and use both power and "zingers" to shift the advantage from one to the other.In many ways, the competing Warwick Wilson (David Hyde Piece) and John Taylor (Clayne Crawford) in the Perfect Host weave a story that, in many ways, looks like the competition between Andrew Wyke (Laurence Olivier) and Milo Tindle (Michael Caine)in the original Sleuth.
Watching a master like David Hyde Pierce play Warwick, was a real treat, being sincerely funny and truly frightening and dancing at the same time, have we really seen anyone do that since A Clockwork Orange?
I would only recommend this film for die hard fans of David Hyde Pierce who would enjoy his excellent performance.
I thought it was stupid as it first started off, but after Warwick (the perfect host) turns into a maniac, the movie's acting redeems.
David Hyde Pierce has acted so well in this movie that its will be hard for him to top this.
A bank robber looking to avoid the police, forces his way into the house of David Hyde Pierce and then rather unexpectedly the tables turn on him.
Despite, not having a great story, but a great premise, David Hyde Pierce's performance alone is worth a watching the movie for.
The first few minutes were pretty 'testy' for me, it didn't seem like a movie I would enjoy, but once Hyde Pierce's character joined the story I couldn't quit watching.It starts with a punk repeat crook limping with a badly injured foot after a bank heist.
However what made this low budget film stand out was the performance by the actor David Hyde Pierce.
The real reason it is able to be carried out is the strong performance of Pierce and by the like-minded job by Clayne Crawford as John.
it doesn't hold-up by the end of the film (but it is still supposed to).I can see people enjoying these twists thinking that they are onto some master scheme(s); but the truth is that The Perfect Host plays us -- the audience -- as what we see is a LIE (look closely ...
Hyde Pierce does a stand-out job in the film as the slightly off-kilter Perfect Host and he was a treat to watch here; but I'd decline his dinner invite..
It is one of the more bizarrely wrong turns I've ever seen a filmmaker take, especially at the end of what was a very good effort before that.The Perfect Host is a must-see for any fan of David Hyde Pierce and would be a fun choice for those who aren't.