The Host

Starring: Kang-ho Song, Hie-bong Byeon, Hae-il Park Directed by: Joon-ho Bong Runtime: 119 min. Rated: R Release date: March 9, 2007 - More Info
READER RATINGS:
7.9 OVERALL	Smart . . . . . . . . 8.7 Sexy . . . . . . . . . 4.8 Funny . . . . . . . . 8.7

The Nerve Review

We first see it hanging beneath a bridge spanning Seoul's Han River, where onlookers mistake it for some sort of construction equipment. Moments later, the creature gracefully unfolds — it's much bigger than it had appeared — and plunges into the water, swimming so close to shore that picnickers, at once curious and bored, begin to pelt it with empty beer bottles and half-gnawed chicken wings. This inspired amalgam of the fantastic and the quotidian, juxtaposing the outré design of the amphibious whatsit with the populace's hilariously blasé (and utterly credible) reaction to it, is pure Bong Joon-ho, immediately recognizable to the handful who saw his wacko romantic comedy Barking Dogs Never Bite (never released in the U.S.) or his unconventional policier Memories of Murder (barely released here). But not even Bong's most ardent fans could have been prepared for the brilliantly choreographed mayhem that erupts once the creature scampers ashore and proceeds to improvise a picnic lunch of its own. Shot with the innovation and precision of Spielberg in his heyday, this giddy melee makes you realize what's been sorely missing from recent Hollywood F/X showcases: wit.

Like most Korean filmmakers, Bong has no interest in doing the same thing over and over, even within the confines of a single picture. For all his stunning facility with action and suspense, his primary interest here is in the crazy-quilt dynamic of the Park family: shambling slacker Gang-du (Song Kang-ho); his drunken activist brother (Park Hae-il); his sister (Bae Du-na), a champion archer who (uh-oh) tends to freeze under pressure; his irascible father (Byeon Hie-bong); and his teenage daughter (Ko Ah-sung), who's being held captive by the creature somewhere in the city's sewer system along with other potential midnight snacks. As the little girl's family attempts a rescue, The Host gradually reveals the pointed import of its title; American viewers may be galled to discover that we're as much the enemy as is the giant carnivorous tadpole (or whatever it is). But a little shame is a small price to pay for such a big-hearted, rip-roaring entertainment. Pray that Hollywood is taking copious notes. — Mike D'Angelo

Other Reviews

Variety
Derek Elley
"On almost every level, there's never quite been a monster movie like The Host."
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Hollywood Reporter
Elizabeth Kerr
"Bong is turning into a master of usurping conventions while simultaneously adhering to them, and he does it almost perfectly here. The Host ends like you expect a film of its ilk should but rarely does."
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Slant Magazine
Nick Schager
"A monster movie for our terrorism and biological warfare-shrouded era, Bong Joon-ho's The Host delivers high-octane thrills while cannily exploiting contemporary political fears, with some inspired visual humor amplifying its overriding mood of popcorn-movie excitement."
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LA Weekly
Ella Taylor
"The Host is a miracle of breathless play with form and tone that also seethes with attitude and ideas, from pure movie love to pointed sociopolitical commentary to a bleak existentialism about the inherent cruelty of our world."
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The Village Voice
J. Hoberman
"A broadly played clown show full of lowbrow antics, Bong's big splat is itself a sort of monster. . . As amorphous as its creature, The Host has an engaging refusal to take itself seriously — it's no War of the Worlds and yet, however funny, it is hardly camp. The emotions that The Host churns up, regarding idiot authority and poisonous catastrophe, are too raw — too close to disgust. Is revulsion a form of revolt?"
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Salon
Andrew O'Hehir
"It's a vivid, anarchic picture that's high on old-fashioned thrills. It's sardonic, silly, violent and tenderhearted. . . If the family from Little Miss Sunshine moved to Korea and had to do battle with a big kid-eating mutant gazingus, well ... that would be very strange. But it might be a little like this."
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