Reviews page
The Host - 2006
The Park family have a food stall by the Han River, run by patriarch Hie-bong and his eldest son Gang-du, a kind-hearted but foolish man whose own daughter, Hyun-seo, seems to look after him just as much as he looks after her. When the chaos starts Gang-du and Hyun-seo are right in the middle of it and when they get separated in the panic, Hyun-seo is dragged off by the monster. Her father can only watch as the beast swallows the little girl whole and then disappears under the water.
That all of this happens by about fifteen minutes into the film is a good indicator of what's to come. It's an exciting scene, pacy and kinetic, shot at ground level amidst the screaming citizens. There's no coyness about showing us the monster, no Cloverfield-like glimpses or teasing; we see it in full flow, lolloping through the park like a giant newt but with bigger teeth. It looks a little ridiculous at first but, strange as it sounds, the iffy CGI works well in the context of this zany, unique film. Like much of what happens in The Host, surrendering to the eccentricity greatly improves the viewing experience.
Convinced that the monster is carrying a deadly and contagious virus, the government place everyone who was at the river incident, and those who have been in contact with them, under quarantine. As well as Hie-bong, Gang-du and many other traumatized people, this now includes Gang-du's brother Nam-il and sister Nam-joo, an unemployed graduate and archery bronze-medallist respectively, who have come to share in the family's grief at the loss of young Hyun-seo. Their quiet obedience at the hands of the government soon turns to defiance when Gang-du receives a phone call from his daughter. When she tells him that she is alive and trapped in the beast's sewer lair, the family resolve to escape and save her, and it's this quest that drives the rest of the film.
Joon-ho Bong's film broke records in South Korea but failed to make much of a stir here which is a shame because The Host is extremely enjoyable. It's a glorious mish-mash of genres that has elements of a horror, a monster movie, family drama, comedy, tragedy, farce, social commentary... While some scenes begin humorously and end in tears, others start off deadly serious and evolve into broad comedy, even slapstick. It's a curious thing to watch and some will be put off by the film's refusal to conform to any one genre. The characters are not given a huge amount of dialogue, usually because there's too much going on to stop and talk. It's their actions that define who they are and how they change throughout the story, and overall, The Host creates an unusual but realistic and lovingly crafted family that we never stop rooting for.
It's always refreshing to see child actors that are charming rather than precocious and Ah-sung Ko is excellent as Hyun-seo, bringing a naturalness and toughness to her character that is both believable and moving. Kang-ho Song is also great as the girl's father; although Gang-du grows up a lot as the story progresses, he never loses the sincerity and innocence that always make him the underdog. The rest of the cast are good, particularly the actors that make up the rest of the Park family, all of whom make lasting impressions despite slightly sketchier characterisation.
The Host is well shot, has genuinely tense moments and decent scares. It aims to frighten and entertain, and succeeds on these terms. But more than this, and despite its deliberate quirkiness, it works as a warm, family-focused film that wears its big heart proudly on its sleeve. Well worth checking out on DVD.
by Catherine Leopold - 2009-01-10
At an American military base in Seoul, an arrogant American coroner instructs his Korean underling to pour bottles of old formaldehyde down the drain despite strict government regulations and knowing full well that the toxic material will end up in the Han River. A few years later, as members of the public enjoy their picnics by the river, something emerges from the murky depths: a big, ugly creature that rampages along the water's edge, wreaking havoc on the unsuspecting crowds.The Park family have a food stall by the Han River, run by patriarch Hie-bong and his eldest son Gang-du, a kind-hearted but foolish man whose own daughter, Hyun-seo, seems to look after him just as much as he looks after her. When the chaos starts Gang-du and Hyun-seo are right in the middle of it and when they get separated in the panic, Hyun-seo is dragged off by the monster. Her father can only watch as the beast swallows the little girl whole and then disappears under the water.
That all of this happens by about fifteen minutes into the film is a good indicator of what's to come. It's an exciting scene, pacy and kinetic, shot at ground level amidst the screaming citizens. There's no coyness about showing us the monster, no Cloverfield-like glimpses or teasing; we see it in full flow, lolloping through the park like a giant newt but with bigger teeth. It looks a little ridiculous at first but, strange as it sounds, the iffy CGI works well in the context of this zany, unique film. Like much of what happens in The Host, surrendering to the eccentricity greatly improves the viewing experience.
Convinced that the monster is carrying a deadly and contagious virus, the government place everyone who was at the river incident, and those who have been in contact with them, under quarantine. As well as Hie-bong, Gang-du and many other traumatized people, this now includes Gang-du's brother Nam-il and sister Nam-joo, an unemployed graduate and archery bronze-medallist respectively, who have come to share in the family's grief at the loss of young Hyun-seo. Their quiet obedience at the hands of the government soon turns to defiance when Gang-du receives a phone call from his daughter. When she tells him that she is alive and trapped in the beast's sewer lair, the family resolve to escape and save her, and it's this quest that drives the rest of the film.
Joon-ho Bong's film broke records in South Korea but failed to make much of a stir here which is a shame because The Host is extremely enjoyable. It's a glorious mish-mash of genres that has elements of a horror, a monster movie, family drama, comedy, tragedy, farce, social commentary... While some scenes begin humorously and end in tears, others start off deadly serious and evolve into broad comedy, even slapstick. It's a curious thing to watch and some will be put off by the film's refusal to conform to any one genre. The characters are not given a huge amount of dialogue, usually because there's too much going on to stop and talk. It's their actions that define who they are and how they change throughout the story, and overall, The Host creates an unusual but realistic and lovingly crafted family that we never stop rooting for.
It's always refreshing to see child actors that are charming rather than precocious and Ah-sung Ko is excellent as Hyun-seo, bringing a naturalness and toughness to her character that is both believable and moving. Kang-ho Song is also great as the girl's father; although Gang-du grows up a lot as the story progresses, he never loses the sincerity and innocence that always make him the underdog. The rest of the cast are good, particularly the actors that make up the rest of the Park family, all of whom make lasting impressions despite slightly sketchier characterisation.
The Host is well shot, has genuinely tense moments and decent scares. It aims to frighten and entertain, and succeeds on these terms. But more than this, and despite its deliberate quirkiness, it works as a warm, family-focused film that wears its big heart proudly on its sleeve. Well worth checking out on DVD.