Tuesday’s Top Trailer: The Guest

Welcome back to a weekly feature here at Movies with Abe, Tuesday's Top Trailer. One of my favorite parts about going to see movies is the series of trailers that airs beforehand and, more often than not, the trailer is far better than the actual film. Each week, I'll be sharing a trailer I've recently seen. Please chime in with comments on what you think of the trailer and how you think the movie is going to be.

The Guest – Opening September 17, 2014

Wouldn’t you like to know what Dan Stevens, best known as Matthew from “Downton Abbey,” has been up to recently? I know I would, and I tried to find out when this film screened at the Sundance Film Festival back in January, but couldn’t make any of the screening times. Now I got a chance to see the trailer, which makes me just as curious as I was before I knew anything about the film. It’s always interesting to see British actors don American accents, and it seems like Stevens does pretty well adopting a slight Southern drawl. Stopping by the home of the family of one of his military buddies killed in action seems very innocuous at first, but it’s clear that Stevens’ David has quite a profound effect on all of the inhabitants of the home. This looks like a powerful, endearing drama in some senses, and also like an enthralling thriller by the looks of the second half of the trailer, which introduces the inevitable twist of our good friend David not being completely honest with his new adoptive family about his reasons for being there. I’m interested to see what Stevens can do with a role that isn’t so antiquated and melodramatic, and he looks great in the trailer. Director Adam Wingard’s resume is basically all horror films, and I think this could well be a productive departure. This kind of film has the potential to be a surprising, invigorating thriller but could also end up being poor and entirely forgettable. Let’s hope for the former!