No Good Deed | PG-13
The Guest | R
These two movies arrive at about the same time, with somewhat similar themes: a visitor to a family’s home is not who they pretend to be.
In No Good Deed, an escaped convict appears at a modest suburban home claiming he has had car trouble. In short order he begins to victimize the family. But, it the end … Well, you can pretty well guess the outcome. Stars Idris Elba as the convict Colin Evans and Taraji P. Henson as Terri Granger, the mother he terrorizes. Critics were not especially kind to No Good Deed.
As a family is still mourning the loss of their son in the war in Afghanistan, a young stranger appears at their home claiming to have been a friend of the dead son. That’s the foundation of The Guest, but the foundation crumbles as the guest insinuates himself into the good graces of the family, and then turns violent. Dan Stevens (Matthew Crawley of Downton Abbey) stars as David Andersen Collins, the guest. This one is not as nicely wrapped up at the end as No Good Deed.
