The Host

The Host is a creature feature of unexpected wit and poignancy. It tells the strange tale of the Parks, an ordinary family who become pseudowarriors after an attack on their home near the Han River in South Korea devastates the area and leads to unforeseen personal complications. Gang-du, (Song Kang-ho) the oldest and seemingly dimmest of three siblings becomes a particular interest to world governments after coming into close contact with the “creature” and surviving, making him patient zero for a supposed virus that the beast transmits.

The details here are not worth discussing in depth as the kooky contrivances of the mutant monster storyline are really just a template for a much bigger dramatic work. The film’s greatest asset is its self aware, genre-busting attitude. It lilts you into a soft melodrama or gets you lost in hilarious silliness only to snatch you back up with a vicious, unexpected kill. The sheer ruthlessness of the movie exceeds the intensity of most American thrillers within minutes. No character, however likable, is safe from threats both monstrous and sadistically human in nature. This is, after all, as much of a cautionary tale as it is a thriller, as it is a drama, as it is a comedy, etc. The mutant sea monster tale actually serves as a reflection on the price of beastly modern politics and social carelessness. Extrapolated from a real incident that took place in 2000 in which a Korean subordinate was forced to dump excess formaldehyde directly into the Han River, The Host tells of the dangers of a science obsessed, chemical age and champions a dwindling fervor for belief in the human spirit and the family bond.

This is a film so gripping and torturous that it can become painful to endure. From start to finish, it is an absolute terror and yet it is also a subtle delight. There’s a wonderful family drama at its core and a quest to save an endangered youth. It actually reminded me quite strangely of deranged reinterpretation of Little Miss Sunshine. It has that level of dysfunctional family goodness and gentle warmth, but also an added dimension of horror that defies expectations and shakes up your comfort level with the usually tired genre. It is a rare thing in the modern movie world when any sort of CGI monster takes on enough life to actually scare us and even rarer when its victims are compelling enough for us to agonize over their safety. This film delivers both of those things and much more.

Grade: A