The Host

I happened to watch this tonight at the cinema although I don't speak or understand Korean... let alone Japanese...however it wasn't difficult to grasp the story or get caught up with the characters and the situation.

This film is comical in parts and borders on science fiction, drama and even horror, but it is really fantastic to watch and displays a lot of emotion and realistic reactions. The special effects are excellent, the characters are believable and it is one movie well worth watching even if it is in a different language. There is nothing like a creature from hell to add a bit of excitement to your day....

For the first time ever I knocked over my coke and jumped 6 feet out of my seat when I was suddenly and unexpectedly given the fright of my life....for those of you that like this kind of excitement....be on the watch out for this little gem. (Subtitles would be an idea).

I highly recommend this film and cant wait to buy it and own it on DVD!!!!

A release of chemicals into Seoul's Han River has an immediate and deadly impact when a mutation occurs within the animal life. The extent of this is made very clear when a massive creature attacks those enjoying a summer's day in the park. Many are killed, including young Hyun-seo. The military move in, quarantining everyone despite their grief. However Hyun-seo is still alive having been dumped in the creatures layer, deep in the sewer and uses a mobile recovered from another body to contact her father. Nobody believes his claims that his daughter is still alive though, so the family go out to hunt down the creature.

From the plot summary you would be forgiven for believing this to be a simple creature feature and indeed this idea is reinforced by a really stylish and exciting opening twenty minutes. Sadly this is not continued or indeed ever matched as the film seems to have far too many ideas and themes and far too little idea of how to pull them all together into a coherent or engaging story. It happens at the start with a clumsy and obvious "message" scene about pollution but I forgave this since everything from there went so well and the attack on the park was so professionally done. The sense of panic and voyeurism is conveyed convincingly while the action is so exciting. Once past this though we get lots of stuff about military intervention, mistrust of authorities, US intervention in Korea, foreign corporations and the inability of the man in the street to stop (or care about) any of it – or, as my partner described it, "lots of random sh1t". I do not agree with her rather harsh summary because in theory there is plenty of value in the themes and ideas that the film tries to work with and I could even accept it if I had not understood everything because I do not have the Korean frame of reference.

The problem was though that it didn't come together and the allegories and thematic content only served to slow and dull the film while also completely throwing any hope of a consistent tone. So we get suffering thrown up against comedy; horror thrown up against conspiracy; politics thrown up against family threads etc. And none of them merge at all with the end result of a film that constantly had me wondering where it was all going and, more importantly, when was it going to end? The latter question is valid because, with all these ideas the film runs to almost two hours – a trifle if a film engages you but for one this messy and erratic it is far too long a running time for this to carry.

The cast seem as lost as I was at times and their performances vary wildly. They are asked to be real people but yet also expected to carry the poor mix of humour, horror and political meaning and they cannot manage it. Ah-sung has the easiest ride as she is very much in the horror part of the film but the rest (Kang-ho, Hie-bong and Hae-il) has significantly harder roles that they cannot save from the rest of the film. Joon-ho's direction on the action and horror sequences is impressive and it is a shame that he fudges almost every other aspect of it.

The overall result is a horror movie that simply never gets close to the impact of the opening few scenes. The horror is lost in a clumsy and ineffective attempt at wider meaning and at two hours, it is far too long to sustain itself – long outstaying its welcome. Unfortunately this is one Korean film that does not deserve the hype and is only worth seeing for the excellent opening attack sequence.

It's a picturesque afternoon in the park near the river. Kids run gleefully as parents set up picnic lunches and enjoy the sunshine. Young couples lay together on blankets, friends toss a Frisbee - it's just about perfect... except for the giant creature hanging from the bridge.

Parkgoers quickly gather to gape at the mysterious something. They ooh and aah when the great beast slides into to water and eases its way over to the shallows, idling just beneath the surface. No one senses any cause for alarm. They lean closer and toss snacks into the river, as if it's a cute family of ducks.

But ducks don't have teeth like this thing.

The crowd erupts into panic as the monster reveals its lethal force and ravenous appetite. Among the crowd scurrying for their lives are an old food shack owner, his young granddaughter, and her dad. The dad displays his bravery by facing the monster, but he also displays also his imperfections by... well, I won't spoil that part.

Director and writer Bong Joon Ho cleverly details the family's dysfunction through subtle dialogue before the monster chase and in the aftermath. This family is a ragtag group without much clue about what to do, but they are nevertheless relatable and easy to root for.

Though the horror aspect is feature most prominently, the film contains layers beneath the surface for those interested in further examination. Bong Joon Ho manages to weave together elements of a family comedy, social satire, environmental conservation, and of course, a monster horror movie.

This is unequivocally Bong's movie. He expertly directs chase scenes with thrilling camera movements and engrossing framing choices that make you lean forward in your seat with excitement while you also partially cover your eyes in fear. It's a fascinating paradox.

In quieter moments, Bong unveils a novel's worth of background information through a few purposeful conversations between characters. Listen closely or you'll miss important details and have to watch the movie again. You'll probably want to anyway.

An American military base of Yongson releases toxic chemicals in the drain to the Han River under the direct order of an arrogant U. S. Army coroner. Six years later, a large monster appears on the riverbank to munch on fistfuls of passers-by. Stars Park Hee-bong (Byun Hee-Bong), a man in his late 60s. He runs a small snack bar on the banks of the Han River and lives with his two sons, one daughter, and one granddaughter. Hee-bong's elder son Gang-du (Song Kang-ho) is an immature and incompetent man in his 40s, whose wife left home long ago. Nam-il (Park Hae-il) is the youngest son, an unemployed grumbler, and daughter Nam-joo (Bae Doona) is an archery medalist and member of the national team. The enormous monster spreads panic and death, and Gang-du's daughter Hyun-seo (Ko Asung) is carried off by the monster and disappears. Others are also carried to its lair as snacks. Along the way, the motley family takes on lots of difficulties, risks, dangers to rescue the little girl. It is Lurking Behind You !. Man has made his newest predator !. Monsters are real !. You are what it eats !. Out of the darkness, something is ready to start feeding !. It's war!.

This creature feature is South Korea's all-time boxoffice champ to date, having been seen by 14 million of the country's 48 million inhabitants. Containing a ecologist denounce when careless pollution by the US military spawns a huge fleet-footed amphibian thingummy. Constructed around graceful digital effects (courtesy of San Francisco outfit, The Orphanage) , this movie skilfully strings together nail-biting scares , plucky heroism , jet black comedy as a dysfunctional family set aside their differences to rescue their daughter from the beastie's clutches. There'a a misfit group of roles among the family members who hold emotional volatility, but 'The Host' also moves beyond the genre formula, since it's rooted in burning indignation that the working class folk at the centre of events are simply ignored by high-handed authorities in thrall to the Americans -a significant issue in a nation where democracy has recently taken root.

The motion picture was well directed by Bong Joon Ho. He has directed a few but successful films such as : ¨Mother¨ , ¨Tokyo¨ , ¨Parasite¨ ¨Snowpiercer¨(filmed in seventy-two days , this is Joon-ho Bong's first English-language film) and The Host . His filmography is characterized by emphasis on social themes, genre-mixing, black humor, and sudden tone shifts. He first became known to audiences and achieved a cult following with his directorial debut film, the black comedy Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000), before achieving both critical and commercial success with his subsequent films: the crime thriller Memories of Murder (2003), and the black comedy thriller Parasite (2019), all of which are among the highest-grossing films in South Korea, with Parasite also being the highest-grossing South Korean film in history; Parasite also became the first South Korean film to receive Academy Award nominations, with Bong winning Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, making Parasite the first film not in English to win Best Picture. The Host rating: 7/10. Better than average.

This movie took me by storm, it is by far one of the more interesting, fast paced, seat-gripping movies to come out of Korea.

When I initially picked up this movie, I was sort of sceptical, a monster movie from Korea? Going to be mediocre at best. But this is where I thought wrong...

Right from the beginning, this movie was interesting, and it never lets you go once it got you. Fast pace from start till end. And it really helps that the effects are awesome.

The movie mixes humour well with the "horror" part of it, as it is a monster movie. And it works well. Even if you are not a particular fan of Asian movies, you might want to check this out for the effects alone.

I have seen this movie a couple of times already, and it doesn't get boring. It is somewhat of a gem in Asian film history - at least I think so.