Welcome to the theater of the absurd. Adam Wingard’s The Guest continues the freakish formula seen in 2011’s You’re Next, a strange but fervid film that polarized audiences to the extreme. It wasn’t what they expected, and judging from the trailers for The Guest, this won’t be either. It’s the rare film that still has the element of surprise, and if you want to go in as I did — blissfully ignorant — stop reading here. It’s a delirious and exhilarating ride unlike any other in 2014, and I’m extremely grateful the marketing let me discover the film in the theater and not on YouTube. The Guest’s unpredictability is a powerful asset in a year of sequels and reboots, and the less you know going in, the better your experience will be. Know it’s hyper-violent, darkly funny, and an ‘80s throwback that’s more John Carpenter than John Hughes. Wingard fetishizes oddness with a tongue-in-cheek fervor that’s, frankly, intoxicating, and if there’s a film that you should avoid spoilers for, it’s this one.

Dan Stevens, most recognizable as the dapper middle-class suitor on the massively popular Downton Abbey, convincingly plays American Army veteran David Collins. He has a promise in his pocket to help the family of close friend Caleb Peterson after he died in combat. Collins tells the Peterson family he was instructed to tell each family member what they undoubtedly wanted to hear most: that Caleb loved each of them and thought of them every day, even until the end. With a cordial charm, a thousand dollar smile, and bright blue eyes, he’s a handsome and instantly trustable person that we, like the members of the Peterson family, place our total trust in. Caleb’s mom, Laura (Sheila Kelley), welcomes him like a proxy son, and it isn’t long before she’s convinced David to stay in her son’s old bedroom. David’s welcome is warm. Caleb’s bullied but seemingly indifferent brother, Luke (Brendan Meyer), soon calls him a friend. It doesn’t take long for the initially apprehensive dad (Leland Orser) to confide his troubles, and the alternative sister (Maika Monroe) eventually becomes a victim of his good looks. He’ll politely turn down a beer only to have one later on, giving off a sense of approachability and discipline. But the more time he spends in the mourning home, the more we question if he’s a wolf in Army’s clothing.