The Host

Korean cinema has been growing in reputation in recent years with directors such as Chan Wook Park and films such as Oldboy, and The Host further cemented this fact with its release last year, quickly becoming the biggest Korean film of all time. Basically a monster movie at heart the film focuses on one specific family and how they deal with the emergence of a giant sewer beast from the Han River one day, an event that causes widespread panic, only furthered by the announcement that the beast is the host of a terrible virus to all who come in contact with it. I won’t say any more, the film is best seen with as little prior knowledge as possible, but this is a really great film reinventing the monster movie genre with some astonishing sequences and special effects and the typical bizarre and violent Korean spin on the usual Hollywood storylines. The acting throughout is fantastic with some wonderfully realised characters that you immediately care for and bond with. The overtly political and even satirical elements are blended well into the storyline and as the film progresses you realise it is less about the monster itself than peoples reactions to it and the dangers of misinformation, the media and government control. What the film does well though is keeping such a wide ranging story focused on this single family, having us see the events through their eyes, much like Spielberg did in War of the Worlds. Visually the film is a treat and the direction is superb from the wonderfully realised creature to some hauntingly beautiful sequences, especially towards the end of the film. I was blown away by the film and highly recommend it as something a bit different but also an emotional, entertaining and enjoyable monster movie that packs a human punch.