The Host (2006)

The Host

Bong Joon-ho 
South Korea

With a few exceptions like Frankenstein, Jaws, Alien and the original King Kong, monster movies are a genre of film that is rarely discussed when talking about the best films of a year. Most horror films are looked down upon for different reasons, mainly because there are so many terrible ones, and many are unwilling to give them a chance due to their preconceived notions about what horror films are all about. On this blog, we feel it is important to not have bias against any one genre of film so all are on equal footing as we analyze them. Ignoring a genre would make the world of film lose some of its luster for us as well. The Host, by Bong Joon-ho, is so interesting and worth noting in this series of articles because while it can be taken as just another big monster movie in the vein of Godzilla or King Kong, it also has an entire political subtext based on U.S.-Korean relations.

The opening scene is taken from reality, where, in 2000, a U.S. Military employee ordered the dumping of toxic chemicals into a the sewer system that led to the Han River despite the protests of a South Korean subordinate. The government of South Korea attempted to prosecute the employee but the U.S. Military refused to hand him over and the Korean public was furious that their government could not enforce their laws on someone hurting their their environment within their borders. The Host's main characters are a normal, slightly dysfunctional family, that are powerless as a monster kidnaps one of their members, a little girl named Hyun-seo. They cannot get their government officials to listen to their pleas for help and the U.S. Military does not listen to them and is even openly hostile towards them. Confusion and misinformation among the military and its scientists lead them to believe the creature is the host of a virus so the family are held in quarantine. There, the father of the young girl, Gang-du, finds out there is no virus and the government officials are perpetuating the misinformation to cover up their mistake. This all happens while they are prepping him for brain surgery to “locate the viral infection.” In an strange turn-of-events, his lobotomy somehow cures his slow-wittedness and he is much more proactive for the rest of the film. They are completely at the mercy of the government and military which makes you wonder how you might be treated in a local disaster like a hurricane or viral outbreak. Can your rights be indiscriminately taken away as well?

While being a great monster movie first and foremost, The Host is filled with scenes of humor, drama and suspense as well as political commentary and the film becomes greater than the sum of its parts because all are presented equally well with little disconnect. In one great scene, a group funeral is taking place for the victims of the creature's attacks. The whole family gets together to mourn for the little girl thought dead and slowly becomes a slapstick fight between siblings as photographers from news outlets snap pictures. After the family gets a cell phone call from the young girl, they escape quarantine and go after the monster on their own. The escape and subsequent fight against the creature are full of edge-of-your-seat moments and you will be rooting for their success and hopeful for their reunion. The creature's introduction is deftly handled as, only ten minutes into the film it appears in broad daylight as opposed to sneaking around in the shadows for half of the running time (Peter Jackson's recent remake of King Kong had the monster not appear until 70 minutes in.)

Compared to an American film of this type, The Host was made on a shoestring budget of only 11 million dollars but that is actually a huge amount for a Korean movie. An American remake is in the works and will probably require a minimum of 100 million dollars if other big budget Hollywood movies are any indication. The remake will most likely remove the anti-colonial subtext and become just another big monster movie in the process. The CGI is surprisingly good for such a low budget and the monster looks like it has weight to it that is missing from some Hollywood monsters.

The Host is a highly imaginative mixture of genres and comes with highest recommendation. The look at this family coming together in a disaster is exciting, heartfelt, frightening and fun. Those that avoid horror because of gory violence will be happy that they are kept to a bare minimum. Horror is a staple of film and there are many greats to be found if one looks closely enough and keeps an open mind. 


Rating: 9/10 

-Ryan Sallows