Finally there’s a film that expresses the true horror of Zoom calls. Shudder–the thriller, horror, and suspense-themed streaming service–recently announced that a new film coming their catalog on July 30, Host, was made during the coronavirus lockdown, with the cast and crew strictly following social distancing guidelines.
Host is a film seen through several small screens, over the linked-up video call of six friends who hold a séance during quarantine. But of course, an evil spirit shows up and begins terrorizing the group in each of their separate locations.
Over the past few months, stay at home and quarantine orders in major cities across the globe ground the film-making industry to a halt, but Deadline reports that the all the actors in Host operated their own cameras and managed their own stunts, lighting, and practical effects while the director, Rob Savage (Dawn of the Deaf), guided them remotely. When Shudder’s general manager saw a short film that Savage directed during lockdown go viral, he reached out about potential feature-length works.
“I’m a certified Shudder obsessive,” Savage told Deadline. “When lockdown began, I spent weeks bingeing everything on Shudder, so to find myself premiering a new film on the platform only a few months later is incredible. Shudder understood the potential of this mad little film from day one and totally supported us making it in our own way.”
