The Guest List

The Guest List

Year: 2022

Runtime: 120 mins

Language: English

Director: David S. Bellino

Documentary

In 2003, a tragic event unfolded in West Warwick, Rhode Island, when the band Great White used pyrotechnics inside The Station nightclub. The resulting fire quickly spread, claiming the lives of 100 people and injuring many others. The documentary explores the circumstances leading up to the disaster, examining the fates of those affected—both innocent victims and those considered responsible. It also looks at how music and rock culture played a role in the events and how the community found solace and healing in the years following the devastating fire.

Warning: spoilers below!

Haven’t seen The Guest List yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!

Timeline & Setting – The Guest List (2022)

Explore the full timeline and setting of The Guest List (2022). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Contemporary

The events unfold in modern times, centered on a chic wedding. The story incorporates current dating dynamics and online connections that complicate the relationships on display. The storm and isolation heighten the thriller mood of a present-day mystery.

Location

The Folly, an isolated wedding venue on a windswept island off the coast of Ireland

On a remote, windswept island off the coast of Ireland, The Folly sits as an isolated wedding venue. A fierce storm cuts off all communication with the mainland, turning the celebration into a claustrophobic test of loyalties. The rugged coastline and blackout amplify rumors and hidden agendas among the guests.

🏝 Island 🌧 Storm 🏰 Venue

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 10:06

Main Characters – The Guest List (2022)

Meet the key characters of The Guest List (2022), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Jules Keegan

A successful London magazine publisher who orchestrates a high-society wedding. Beneath her poised exterior, she wrestles with trust, control, and the fear of losing her fiancé. The unraveling secrets test her ability to navigate loyalty and love.

💼 Ambition 💔 Betrayal 🧭 Trust

Will Slater

A charming television personality engaged to Jules, whose polished image hides a messy past. He is revealed to have hidden identities and a pattern of manipulation that drives the conflict. His actions push Olivia and Jules toward a breaking point as truths surface.

💖 Charm 🕶️ Deception 🗝️ Secrets

Olivia

Jules’s fragile half-sister, deeply troubled after a traumatic event. She is haunted by being ghosted by Steve, a man she met online, and by an abortion she suffered alone. Her emotional instability intensifies as the wedding unfolds and secrets collide.

💔 Trauma 🌀 Turbulence 🗝️ Secrets

Hannah

A guest and wife of Jules’s longtime friend Charlie, increasingly alienated as the wedding draws near. She mourns her sister Alice, whose suicide haunts her, and she suspects Will’s involvement in long-buried betrayals. Her loyalty is tested as secrets threaten her marriage.

💔 Grief 🔥 Jealousy 🕊️ Heartbreak

Johnno

Will’s best man who carries a deep sense of inferiority from their boarding-school days. He grapples with guilt over the death of a vulnerable classmate and the role he and Will played. His remorse fuels the tension as the past bleeds into the present.

🏫 Guilt 💪 Rivalry 🗝️ Secrets

Aoife

The wedding planner and sister of Darcey, the boy who died years earlier. She lures the guests to the island with a discount in hopes of securing closure, planning to confront Will for Darcey’s death. Her actions drive the climax and expose long-buried grievances.

🎯 Planner 🗡️ Revenge 🗝️ Closure

Charlie

Hannah’s husband and Jules’s longtime friend. He becomes a focal point as Jules’s past with him revisits old wounds, including the revelation of an affair with Jules that unsettles the group. His actions ripple through the party, intensifying the storm of secrets.

💔 Infidelity 💬 Strain 🕊️ Betrayal

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 10:06

Major Themes – The Guest List (2022)

Explore the central themes of The Guest List (2022), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🗝️ Secrets

Long-buried pasts surface as guests confront who they really are. The narrative reveals how past mistakes, including the death of a classmate, haunt the present. Each perspective peels back deception to expose what people are willing to do to protect themselves. The wedding becomes a stage where truth and lies collide.

🕵️ Mystery

The storm-bound island becomes a confined setting where clues accumulate and suspicion grows. As memories and motives are traded, the true chain of events begins to surface. Notes, threats, and misdirections push the story toward a climactic revelation. The truth remains elusive until the final confrontation.

🔥 Revenge

Aoife's pursuit of vengeance for her brother drives the narrative toward murder. The killer's motive is framed as a quest for closure rather than mere malice. Grief mutates into calculated action, blurring moral lines. Characters react to the act and its consequences as the truth unfolds.

🌧️ Isolation

The island's remoteness and the blackout sever ties to the outside world. Relationships fracture under pressure, revealing fragility and resilience. The storm becomes a metaphor for the characters' emotional turmoil. When power returns, truth and consequences crash down on the wedding party.

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 10:06

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Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Pressure cooker thrillers like The Guest List

Trapped characters confront their darkest secrets in an isolated, tense setting.If you liked the tense, trapped atmosphere of The Guest List, explore more movies where groups are confined and secrets boil over. This list features similar psychological thrillers with high-stakes interpersonal conflict in isolated settings, perfect for fans of suspenseful, claustrophobic stories.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative typically begins with a group gathering in a remote or confined location. An external force (like a storm or a locked door) traps them, cutting off escape. As tensions rise, past grievances and hidden truths are systematically exposed, leading to a breakdown of social order and often culminating in violence or a shocking revelation that changes the group dynamic forever.

Why These Movies?

These movies are grouped together because they share a core structure of confinement leading to psychological unraveling. They evoke a similar feeling of claustrophobic dread, rely on steady pacing to build unbearable tension, and explore dark themes of betrayal, guilt, and the fragility of social masks under pressure.

Movies about uncovering past trauma like The Guest List

Stories where buried grief and guilt resurface, shaping a bleak present.Fans of The Guest List's exploration of grief and the impact of past events will find similar depth here. This collection features complex dramas and thrillers where a tragic history haunts the characters, driving the plot toward a somber and emotionally heavy resolution.

sombermelancholicgrippingpsychologicalheavyreflectivetenseanxious

Narrative Summary

These stories often employ a dual timeline, interweaving the present-day scenario with flashbacks to a pivotal traumatic event. The plot revolves around the gradual, often painful, uncovering of this history. Characters are motivated by long-held guilt or a quest for vengeance, and the revelation of the truth typically leads to a climax that is more about catharsis or tragic reckoning than simple victory.

Why These Movies?

This thread connects films that use a complex narrative structure to explore the enduring weight of trauma. They share a melancholic and somber mood, a steady pacing that allows for deep psychological exploration, and a mixed or bleak ending feel that acknowledges the permanent scars left by the past.

Unlock the Full Story of The Guest List

Don't stop at just watching — explore The Guest List in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what The Guest List is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

The Guest List Summary

Read a complete plot summary of The Guest List, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

The Guest List Summary

The Guest List Timeline

Track the full timeline of The Guest List with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

The Guest List Timeline

The Guest List Spoiler-Free Summary

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The Guest List Spoiler-Free Summary

More About The Guest List

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about The Guest List: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About The Guest List