:
Song Kang-Ho,
Byeon Heui-bong,
Park Hae-il,
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:
Bong Joon-ho
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: 
: Magnolia
: Foreign, Horror, Korea, Killer Critters, Asian Horror
: English, Korean
: English, Spanish
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The Host (2006)
When a young girl is snatched away from her father by a horrifying giant monster that emerges from the River Han to wreak havoc on Seoul, her entire family sets out to locate the beast and bring their little girl back home to safety in South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's big-budget creature feature. Hee-bong is a man of modest means who runs a snack bar on the banks of the River Han. Along with his slow-witted edlest son Gang-du, Gang-du's young daughter Hyun-seo, archery champion daughter Nam-joo, and unemployed, shirker son Nam-il, Hee-Bong has managed to maintain a close relationship with his family despite the hardships that come with being a single father. When a rampaging fiend erupts from the Han and throws the city of Seoul into a state of emergency, Gang-du is heartbroken to see his precious little girl scooped up by the scaly creature and spirited away to an unknown destination. This is one family that always sticks together, though, and as the rest of the city denizens scramble to take cover, Hee-bong, Gang-du, Nam-joo, and Nam-il set out to prove that they're not letting their little girl go without a fight. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
The Host (Bonus Disc) (2006)
When a young girl is snatched away from her father by a horrifying giant monster that emerges from the River Han to wreak havoc on Seoul, her entire family sets out to locate the beast and bring their little girl back home to safety in South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's big-budget creature feature. Hee-bong is a man of modest means who runs a snack bar on the banks of the River Han. Along with his slow-witted edlest son Gang-du, Gang-du's young daughter Hyun-seo, archery champion daughter Nam-joo, and unemployed, shirker son Nam-il, Hee-Bong has managed to maintain a close relationship with his family despite the hardships that come with being a single father. When a rampaging fiend erupts from the Han and throws the city of Seoul into a state of emergency, Gang-du is heartbroken to see his precious little girl scooped up by the scaly creature and spirited away to an unknown destination. This is one family that always sticks together, though, and as the rest of the city denizens scramble to take cover, Hee-bong, Gang-du, Nam-joo, and Nam-il set out to prove that they're not letting their little girl go without a fight. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
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| Caveat cineaste
by chris.cornell
September 8, 2007 - 10:34 PM PDT
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2 out of 3 members found this review helpful
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I was fully prepared to embrace this movie based upon the glowing reviews and enthusiastic words of others. Surprisingly, two hours later despite my best efforts I could do no more than shake my head.
The film is not a total waste of time. It is also nowhere close to worthy of the laughably over-the-top praise that it's received. There are some good scares, some decent effects and welcome doses of humor and social commentary. Unfortunately, none of these elements ever gel into a comprehensive whole.
The one weak link that truly sinks this film like a harpooned fish-monster is the odd buffoonery of pretty much all the characters. Bong doesn't discriminate; all sides of this conflict appear to suffer from similar mental defects. Let's see, we have the bumbling, catnapping protagonist; the cross-eyed (and incompetent) evil scientist; even the onlookers are nose-picking, soju-swilling simpletons. Hey, maybe that monster is simply an agent of Darwinism.
One could argue that it's all in the name of satire. Unfortunately, the outright goofiness clashes head-on with the rest of the material and leaves us not with a horror movie, but a borderline parody punctuated by occasional scary, even shocking, moments that seem out of place.
A lighter touch could have managed to weave all of these disparate elements into a genre-bending good time with some heft behind it to boot. Instead, we are left with a film that can't quite decide what it wants to say or do. There are plenty of amazing recent Korean films to be found; I suggest seeking them out instead. |
| Not one of the greatest monster movies ever made.
by rpmfla
September 1, 2007 - 5:55 PM PDT
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2 out of 4 members found this review helpful
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This is a very good movie, but I guess all of the reviews filled with praise had me expecting even more. "On a par with Jaws!", "One of the greatest monster movies ever made!" had me hoping it would be something special. Well, as I said, it is very well done. The monster is well animated, the dysfunctional family is fun to watch, and the plot is fairly well acted out.
However, it is not on a par with Jaws, and I would not agree with the hyperbole from the critics in proclaiming it one of the greatest of all time. They did well with the budget they had, and made a fun film. Let's not go overboard with the praise. |
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| Cannes Film Festival & More - 2006 |
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| Official Selection, Certain Regards... and more. Here is a bit more information on the films screened at the Cannes. I have attempted to list all the films that were considered for an award as well as any special screenings. |
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