Review: THE HOST (2006)

As time passes by, so do films on THE LIST.

Today's is The Host ... no, not that one ... (aka Gwoemul; 2006).



My son, James, will go first:

Well, this one is pretty cool. The Host is about a mutant rampaging around killing people and viruses. It's creepy, it's cool, it's sad and it's plain awesomeness!!! I liked it because the monster is great, i don't like it because the monster isn't the main danger. 

So, rating wise, i'll say 3.9367 out of 5 Atomic Breaths of Awesomeness!!!

My turn:

Meet the Park family.  Granddad is a food stand operator.  He has a son who's a college grad and unemployed alcoholic, a daughter who is a hesitant, bronze-medal winning archer and another son who is dimwitted and father of the eager and bright schoolgirl, Hyun-Seo. 

They are dysfunctional, to say the least.  They are often funny.  By the end of the film, they are heartbreaking and they are badass. 

I don't want to ruin the film for anyone who hasn't seen it.  Watching it for this review was my first time and it was stellar. 

I'll say that the initial monster attack comes about fifteen minutes into the movie and it's downright harrowing.  Just great filmmaking on every level. 

 

The beauty of the movie is that there are many, many layers.  There is humor and horror, but there is satire and commentary, too.  I remember hearing about democracy protests in South Korea years ago, and that reverberates in this film.  As does some animosity toward American involvement in their own affairs. 

The Host ... really damn good, even though it took me a while to realize why it was called The Host.  4.5 out of five atomic breath blasts.

Here's a fan trailer that doesn't spoil some of the surprises (and you can hear some very Battlestar Galactica-like musical stings):



Next, Big Man Japan.

(GIFs from tibdfc and ScreencapsOfDoom)