The Host (2007)

Truly Dreadful Film

Admirable film.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

A good mix of comedy,drama,scary bits and the characters were really likeable.

This is a great non-cliche monster movie! Actually, the interesting part is that the story revolves around analyzing the human nature. Although the mutant creature is the cause of everything, the characters matter the most ("The mist" comes in mind somehow). Mixed feelings is the definition of this. Satirical, funny, awkwardly funny, then there's drama and so much drama that it turns out to be funny; also some action scenes, some ridiculously funny scenes and many awkward moments; the black comedy is pretty prominent here actually. I like how it jumps from dramatic scenes to comedy scenes. There are some symbolic scenes here too. I'm not going to reveal them of course, but I must mention the scene where all 4 main characters are gathered at the table and then something happens. This is not a spoiler because the scene is very obvious. Powerful and emotional moments like this are actually scattered throughout the whole movie. I don't know why I saw some horror tags. I don't actually see too much horror in this... maybe some shocking moments, but far from horror. The creature's animation was awesome. I'm not a big fan of CGI (especially movies abusing special effects), but this is CGI done with style. The movements and... acrobatics of the creature look very organic, they're very smooth and delicate. I was trying to understand the concept of the creature, for some reason... it's an ichthyo-amphibian mutant or something, but its behavior is not at all similar to a fish or a salamander or frog. Well, this is not the point; the point is that the governmental corporations are corrupted and USA sucks... look I'm being funny now. No, seriously... great movie!

First off, I have no idea how so many people can say they don't understand the humour in this film - it's simple, slapstick stuff. A lot of it was obviously to hammer home how dysfunctional the Park family are (such as the funeral scene), and it works well. The people who don't understand it seem to be overthinking it.The film has good and bad points, like most. Some of the good points: The monster looks good, it moves in a really cool way and isn't something that's been done before. It looks like a huge, mutated mudskipper or newt. The family at the centre of the film are quite likeable even with all their faults. That seems to be a problem with a lot of horror films nowadays, the characters tend to be so shallow and stereotypical that you have a hard time caring about them. A lot of unexpected things happen in this film. The ending particularly. It was upsetting, but at the same time it was a refreshing change from the usual formula. CGI, sound, lighting and the camera shots all seemed excellent to me, there was one slightly dodgy moment when the monster falls over at the end but other than that it was great. The jokes/slapstick moments were funny. There wasn't some huge culture barrier, it probably just wasn't to everyone's taste. It's the sort of film that will have a character do something, and you'll find yourself laughing and facepalming at the same time. It's pretty accessible for western audiences. I've seen a few Korean films that were sometimes hard to understand, but this one is easy. Everything is understandable to a western audience and the subtitles are very well done.Bad points: At no point is the film actually scary. It tries to be, but because of the comedy it doesn't quite ever feel frightening. It's more of a drama with a monster in it than a horror movie. It mixes comedy and tragedy, which you don't see often. There's the odd plot hole or two - what the heck was with the fake virus (why?) and where were all the quarantine/police guys after the first half hour? They did have a bit of a dig at the Americans. I thought it was pretty funny, not being one, but I imagine some of them would have been upset by it. Shin Godzilla did the same thing, maybe the Americans are replacing us Brits as the 2D movie bad guys now?All in all, it's well worth watching. I've spent most of this week watching monster movies and this was definitely one of the better ones. It's pretty hard to get it right in this genre, but, although it has a few issues, this film is one of the better ones.

Quarantined after coming in contact with an amphibious sea monster, a slow-witted man flees and searches for his daughter when nobody else believes she has survived the monster attack in this South Korean horror movie. Powered by incredible special effects, 'The Host' has some breathtaking moments as the creature leaps around the infrastructure of Seoul with acrobatic precision; scenes of it plowing mercilessly into crowds have quite an impact too. The bits without the monster are a lot less engaging though. Part of the issue is that the characters are hard to warm to. Kang-ho Song is the most likable with his dedication to his daughter, yet the film uncomfortably plays his social awkwardness and dimwitted nature for laughs. The other issue is that the film packs too much in thematically without exploring every issue. Subplots include thoughtless disposal of dangerous chemicals, government paranoia, a possible virus, and the conviction of government agents that the protagonist is slow-witted due to being infected by the monster. The film has received considerable praise over the years for raising so many ideas, but with none explored in particular depth, this is a film that only really comes alive when the monster is on screen. Fortunately though, it is a great-looking creature, and one that always seems more confused by its human surroundings than genuinely evil.