Film Review - Superhost (2021)

A vacation at a beautiful, big rental house in the woods – what could more idyllic right? Certainly it’s the perfect setup for travel vloggers Claire and Teddy who travel to highly rated holiday homes and review them for their video channel. Recently their views have been dwindling though and subscribers numbers are low, so the pair hopes that this trip will be the one to reinvigorate their dying channel. Luckily, host Rebecca is just as eager for the couple to have a good time – perhaps a little too eager…

Directed by Brandon Christensen, Superhost makes good use of its limited location. Using a blend of found footage style filmmaking and traditional filmmaking, the film slowly builds a suitably creepy atmosphere and works well in inviting the audience to wonder what they would do in the same situation.

ing Sara Canning and Osric Chau as Claire and Teddy are Gracie Gillam as host Rebecca and there is even an appearance from horror stalwart Barbara Crampton. Superhost may have a small cast but the big performances more than make up for it. Gillam’s Rebecca may not appear to be the most formidable villain, but her unhingedness and instability more than make for a person that you would definitely not want to come across. Who would have thought that a big, cheesy smile could be so unsettling?

Superhost adopts a lot of commonalities found in horror, but where it does differentiate itself is with its adept social commentary. It is really interesting for the audience to see that the bright and breezy personalities displayed on video channels are not necessarily true to life. Though these types of social media videos seem easy to make and effortlessly put together, actually they are very produced and controlled. Many may believe that those with video channels have it easy but making a living this way involves a lot of pressure, which is inevitably doubled when the people involved are in a relationship.

Superhost also explores people’s attitudes to influencers and the way that people behave on the internet. With trolls and online bullying rife, have we forgotten that the people we see are actually real people? In one particularly clever scene, Superhost addresses that we have become so desensitised to influencers that we believe that everything that we see them do is only a way to gain views – even if what we see is quite horrific.

In the horror subgenre of rentals gone wrong, Superhost is a great addition with its use of dark humour, social commentary and gory kills. We hope you enjoy your stay!