In the tradition of the very first V/H/S and Unfriended, Shudder is answering the call with Host, a new Zoom-based horror film from Rob Savage (Dawn of the Deaf) that will premiere on Thursday, July 30th.

Commissioned, written, produced and set to be released in under three months, Host was shot remotely during quarantine, all filmed by the actors in their own homes.

“Host is the story of six friends who hire a medium to hold a séance over Zoom during lockdown, but they get far more than they bargain for as things quickly go wrong. When an evil spirit starts invading their homes, they begin to realize they might not survive the night.”

The film stars Haley Bishop (Deep State), Radina Drandova (Dawn of the Deaf), Edward Linard (The Rebels), Jemma Moore (Doom: Annihilation), Caroline Ward (Stalling It) and Emma Louise Webb (The Crown), who also operated their own cameras, helped pull off their own practical effects, and lit their own scenes, notes the press release. “Due to social distancing precautions, Savage never set foot in the same room as his actors at any point during production and instead directed them remotely.”

“[Host] is a great horror film that cleverly uses the idea of a Zoom séance to fashion a story that’s uniquely realistic and terrifying, with jaw-dropping stunts done entirely by the actors,” says Craig Engler, Shudder’s General Manager.

Host is written by Savage, Gemma Hurley and Jed Shepherd; Savage and Shepherd also serve as executive producers. The film is produced by Douglas Cox of Shadowhouse Films, in association with Boo-Urns.