Title: The Host
AKA: Monster
Genre: Thriller, Suspense
Origin: Korea
Release Date: July 27, 2006
Cast: Song Kang Ho, Byun Hee Bong, Park Hae Il, Bae Doo Na
and Go Ah Sung.
Park Gang Doo (Song Kang Ho), a mentally slow man and
father of Park Hyun Soo (Go Ah Sung), runs a street vendor with his father Park
Hee Bong (Byun Hee Bong), right next to Han River. On the day of his sisters
Park Nam Joo’s (Bae Doo Na) archery competition, tourists sight a weird
creature near the river. The creature, swimming closer to land, gathers the
attention of most people, and soon enough also Gang Doo. While everyone is intrigued,
the creature jumps out of the water, and starts grabbing and killing people. In
the confusion Hyun Soo runs out, and becomes pulled underwater by the monster.
The victims and survivors of the incident are
evacuated, and the Park family, Gang Doo, Hee Bong, Nam Joo and the big brother
Park Nam Il (Park Hae Il), gather to mourn Hyun Soo.
While the situation becomes noticed by media, and the government
start covering it up, Gang Doo gets a call from Hyun Soo, giving him hope of
her having survived, and the family decides to go and find Hyun Soo. The family
manages to escape the military holding, but due to the cover-up, the entire
family becomes wanted, and now must hide while trying to rescue Hyun Soo…
The summary might seem detailed, but I managed to only
cover bit of the beginning.
If you are a variety or drama watcher, you will at
some point get to hear about this movie, as it is referenced and mentioned a
lot. So, I kind of needed to see what the hype was about.
When I began it, I expected it to be a horror movie,
but was pleasantly surprised of the fact that it is a monster movie (like
Godzilla or like that). It’s been ages since I’ve watched one, and I really
didn’t feel like another ‘The Wailing’. Of course, it has horror elements,
where you get freaked out, but it’s more of a rescue mission or/and “clear
image of the enemy”-kind of movie. I like the cast, and I like that the movie
didn’t succumb the “American/Hollywood”-hype, though I disliked the beginning -
where an American is to blame for the creation of the monster (don’t worry the
first 10min of the movie shows this, so not really a spoiler).
I don’t want to comment that much, as this is a movie
classic, where my opinion can change your judgement. So, I’m leaving it with
this: a good movie with deserved reputation, though a few dislikable situations
and I have to admit, weird backstory - I felt like the director sometimes took
a bit of the intelligence of the audience for granted.
But all in all, enjoyable.
☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars
♥♥♥ ½ / 3½ out 5 hearts
