The Host

The Host ***1/2

Magnolia Pictures Presents:
A Film Directed by Bong Joon-ho
and written by Bong Joon-ho, Hah Joon-won, Baek Chul-hyun
starring
Song Kang-ho as Park Gang-Du
Byeon Hie-bong as Park Hie-bong
Park Hae-il as Park Nam-il
Bae Du-na as Park Nam-Joo
Ko Ah-sung as Park Hyun-seo
David Joseph Anselmo as Donald

119 Minutes(Rated R for creature violence and language).
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It's been quite some time since I've seen a Korean film, and "The Host" made me remember how much I loved them. With masterpieces as the Revenge Trilogy, "Save the Green Planet," and "Memories of Murder" there is so much cinema to love from the region, and "The Host" is just as good a time as any of the latter ones, if not more. This is actually more than just a creature flick, but also some social commentary about war and government, as well as a compelling family drama, and some great comedy.

The creature is "The Host" was formed after a silly American ordered a Korean lab worker to dump bottles and bottles of dirty and old formaldehyde into the sink which leads to the Han River. The Han River is directly near the store of Gang Du's family. Gang Du is something neglectful, falling asleep on the job, but if one thing is for sure it's that he loves his daughter Hyun-seo. Her mother left when she was a little baby, and she is all he has. Hyun-seo quickly watches television with her grandfather Hie-bong and they seem her aunt Nam-Joo gain second place in an archery competition. There is also uncle Nam-il who is a drunk and blames everyone for everything. When Gang Du comes into contact with the creature, he makes a mistake a Hyun-seo is taken off into the Korean sewer system. Gang Du ends up being reunited with his family, but they all end up becoming outlaws when the government chases them, claiming that the creature is the cause of a horrible virus that is all over the city now. But Gang Du thinks that his daughter is still alive, and will stop at nothing until he finds her, even as he braves the streets and underworld of Korea, evading the creature at every cost.

The creature in "The Host" is only a small part of the entire show. At the core it is about family, and also a decent commentary on the way government will handle situations. The government ends up creating this story of the virus even before they know that there is a virus putting the people into a panic so that the government can't be blamed for any of the problems. And then there are the family values to consider. And Americans aren't seen very highly either-it is after all an American that orders the chemicals be put in the sewer systems. On the whole, Gang Du's family ends up being the Joads("Grapes of Wrath") of the creature genre. They persevere even through the hard times, and they refuse to give up even when they have their problems. They are also just a fantastic group of characters, with Hie-bong(the patriarch) at the center. Bong Joon-ho directs well alongside his pitch perfect screenplay. "The Host" manages to mesh comedy, thrills, and drama so perfectly. One example is a funeral scene where the family is mourning the loss of Hyun-seo. With their over the top reaction, followed by a man in a plastic suit to protect him from disease coming inside only to fall over when he enters, plays with your emotions and just shows what a strange film this really will be.

And then there is the creature itself which is creepy, gross, and anything but lovable. This isn't a creature for a main character to make friends with a find human characteristics in-this is a creature that wants to kill you. It's first scene starts off creepy, as it hangs off of a bridge and then falls into the water below, and then it seems dopey as it runs down the dock looking like someone in a costume, and then continues to be thrilling once it opens it mouth and you see that this isn't something to mess around with. I'll admit that I jumped multiple times throughout "The Host," something that is rare with me. But it is such an entertaining and enjoyable film that it sucks you in to the point where it allows you to jump. This is a different kind of creature film altogether, and something that I have never seen before. This raises the bar for creature features, and one of the best times you'll have at the theatre this year.