The Host

The Host (Gwoemul) (2006)

Runtime: 120 minutes

Directed by: Bong Joon-Ho

Starring: Song Kang-Ho, Park Hae-Il, Doona Bae, Ko Ah-Sung, Byun Hee-Bong

From: Many different companies, most of them Korean

Finally I saw another Korean film, and it was one I happened to have seen before, way back when it originally got released in the United States the Spring of '07. I was glad I watched this again. My Letterboxd review is below: 

Last year I reviewed a handful of movies from South Korea. It wasn't until in the past few years that I sought them out once in awhile, as the whole scene has plenty of fans on the Internet. Well, I figured I should try and watch them a little more often in 2016, and to start that off I went to a movie I actually saw on the big screen and enjoyed at a local arthouse theatre in Central Florida but hadn't watched since. Why not see a movie from the country that is more light-hearted than the typical brutally intense picture that people in the West associate with them? Besides, it's been too long since I had seen anything from Netflix Instant.

The general plot is as simple as you can get, which is that toxic chemicals are poured down the drain and it creates a deadly amphibious creature, which can also run on land. The movie is definitely more than about that, though. I don't understand all of the satire as my knowledge of Korean culture is not extensive but based off of context clues and what I've heard from elsewhere (including yes, Wikipedia), there's a reason why the person that ordered the dumping of all that formaldehyde was an American, and South Korea's own government gets dragged, along with several other entities that I won't spoil here.

I don't want to say that this is a unique beast as it sounds like a bad pun but, that's what I'll go with. It can fit in several different genres. The main thing to know is that the focus is on the Park family, who are rather dysfunctional and yet have to come together as the child of the family is taken and she managed to survive. They have to go through a lot of hardships and it's never easy for them. Considering that, the ending was satisfying as it felt like the characters grew and changed. It is an unconventional monster movie but once you know what it's really all about, it is satisfying to me and there are plenty of amusing and darkly humorous moments. I'll admit that seeing it a second time and remembering how unconventional it was, I do appreciate it more now.

The CGI doesn't always look so hot in 2016; still, it wasn't objectionable to me and it did not ruin the movie. At least it is a distinctive looking creature; I am not the first to make this point but the large monsters you get in recent years from Hollywood productions look uncomfortably alike; what great imagination from Hollywood... as typical, IMO. I understand those that wouldn't care for this as they may prefer a more traditional giant monster movie, or they may feel turned off by the abrupt shifts in tone. I am a rare person who did not care for Snowpiercer and I'd rather not revisit it as I have a feeling my opinion won't change there. At least I can say that this is a film I definitely enjoy from Bong Joon-Ho.