Your Host (2025) | Film Review

Four friends get trapped in a sadistic game show, forced to outwit a twisted serial killer while racing against time. Every move brings them closer to freedom or a gruesome fate.

Directed by DW Medoff (I Will Never Leave You) and written by, first-time credited writer, Joey Miller, Your Host (2025) follows four 'friends' - and I use that descriptor with a pinch of salt - attending a weekend away at one of their father's properties. Their weekend plans of sex, drugs and sausage rolls is thwarted by an unknown masked assailant, turning their trip into a literal game of life, or death.

Starring Ella-Rae Smith (Anita), Jamie Flatters (James), David Angland (Matthew) and Joelle Rae (Melissa) as our four main contestants, they less than deliver with their performances, let alone trying to carry the film. Whether it's due to the direction, or the - at times - pantomime acting, the four characters come across incredibly unlikeable and more than worthy of being the Weakest Link of the film. At no point is there feeling of empathy, or concern for these characters, or any character for that matter.

Your Host (2025) | Film Review

That's not to say there's no fun to be had with the performances. Jackie Earl Haley; as Barry Miller, chews the scenery as an exaggerated, eccentric, sadistic, game show host and makes the the experience worthwhile. Balancing like fine china on a sinking ship, Haley bounces between a soft spoken broken individual, to that of a delusional psychopath, hell-bent on revenge (not justice, as the film attempts to portray).

That being said, the film falls into the same trap as it's predecessors, attempting to justify the actions of the antagonist to sway the moral compass of the audience. In doing so, it can be categorised as one of the many Saw (2004, Wan) clones that has very little substance under the artificial surface of the film.

The locations and traps - sorry - the "Games" scream homage to the gore films of the early to mid-2000s and lack originality. An exception could be the inclusion of the Wheel of Pain, that felt like the inbred offspring of the Wheel of Fortune and the Raw Roulette Wheel.

The opening scene immediately throws the audience into a Saw-esque situation, in which an unknown character - at this time - is forced to engage with a sadistic game of choice. 'Live or die, make your choice' comes to mind. From that very moment, the film was destined to play a game of comparison.

That being said, a big prize needs to be given to the practical effects. At times, the effects are wince inducing and for a smaller budget film, incredibly believable. The set pieces are complimented wonderfully by a build in tension and droning score during each game. These combined provide the crux of entertainment for horror fans.

It will be interesting to see the BBFC's certification for this film (as of August 2025, yet to be determined) and whether we will see a release in its entirety. Regardless, it will most likely receive an 18 certification due to the excessive and unwavering onscreen brutality.

Your Host is average by the standards set before it and a victim of comparison. There's very little depth to be explored and is likely a one & done viewing experience, save for those hardcore torture film fans. Worth watching for Haley delivering as a hammy psychotic antagonist and for the more than enjoyable practical effects.

The film premiered at this years FrightFest on August 22nd. You can check out the trailer below.