#british-drama

#british-drama

The Guest is a fast, furious, preposterous thriller of the kind that you can only pull off if everyone involved in its creation and consumption approaches it without an ounce of cynicism. Barry, Way and the high-calibre cast hold up their end of the bargain, delivering bags of propulsive plot. Viewers must hold up theirs via uncritical acceptance of the multiple twists, and bring along enough metaphorical or actual popcorn for the ride.

There are times in a TV critic's life when a series to which they are assigned inspires them to write reams of text, sometimes because said series is good, sometimes because it's bad. Then there is what I like to call critic purgatory, when the series inspires nothing. Neither impressive nor dreadful, the series is adrift in the doldrums of artistry. If they handed out Emmys for dull television, then I am certain "Hostage," a limited British series now airing on Netflix, would make a clean sweep.