Stella (Camilla Filippi), is standing on the ledge of her open window, on the upper floor of her house. Curiously, she’s wearing a dirty, old wedding gown – she’s a mess and just getting ready to leap to her death when she hears something she hasn’t heard in a longtime.
It’s the doorbell – and it’s ringing continuously.
Abruptly aborting her jump, she hurries downstairs and opens the door to find a mysterious, but friendly and handsome man standing in the rain (Guido Caprino.) He has arrived for his Airbnb-type rental room. Stella, taken aback, says they haven’t rented a room in a long, long time. Fine, he says, “if you’ll at least me come in from the rain and sort this out, I’d appreciate it.”
Like the recent film Barbarian, which starts off in a sort of similar way, The Guest House will humble us if we think we can guess what’s going to happen 10, 20, 30 or even 40 minutes into the film. I sort of guessed one of the possibilities before it was revealed, and still I was all in the whole way.
The press photos reveal that they will not remain just the twosome for the duration. Stella’s cheating husband comes back after an alarming call from her about the mysterious man’s room reservation.
After that, things get amped up. What has been a slow burn psychological thriller gradually starts to dip its toe into horror territory before all is said and done. Some gore and graphic violence.
I absolutely will not reveal any spoilers. It’s a quick watch, a suspenseful and super intense ride, and the cast are all really exceptional.
Stefano Lodovichi’s The Guest Room (La Stanza) will be available on a number of digital and cable platforms, including iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, iNDemand and DISH, starting October 25th.
