In Host, six friends get together during lockdown for a virtual seance. A horror movie about Zoom? I know, it could be bad! But a year and a half into the pandemic, Zoom meetings do feel like a special kind of purgatory. How many times can you say “Can you hear me?” before you summon something? This is the era of cursed content, and that now includes all the things we’ve seen on Zoom.

Much like Searching and Unfriended, Host uses online framing to tell its story, though this film takes place entirely within the intimate confines of a Zoom meeting.

It debuted as a Shudder original last summer, after he tweeted a Zoom prank video in April 2020. It’s film festival season, and after reading about Rob Savage’s upcoming film Dashcam -which has been both buzzed-about and called out for its lead casting choice-I was led to his first film, Host. NOW STREAMING Host scared the Zoom out of me Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox. Recommended viewing: Zoom horror movie Host.Hello! Every week, our internet culture staff will discuss the world of streaming entertainment in this newsletter.In this week’s edition: