The Host: Movie Review

Monster movies of the last 30 years have almost always followed the Jaws formula. Hint at the creature early but hold the full reveal until the third act. Early victims should be virtually nameless fodder and the important characters aren't truly endangered until later in the film. These principles have become part of the unshakable foundation of monster movies. But when you start to watch The Host and within the first 10 minutes it has broken several cardinal rules then you know you are in for something a little bit different. All bets are off and the rulebook goes out the window.

The Host is set in Seoul, South Korea. There an uncaring scientist in an American military outpost casually dumps hazardous chemicals down the sink which simply wash into the river. In the river is wildlife, and some of that wildlife is changed, most notably it grows. Some time later a misfit family is thrown into termoil when the now giant amphibeous monster emerges from the Han River and takes away the youngest family member. The remaining disfunctional family members must band together to try to track down the creature and rescue the young girl. With no help from the military and most telling them to just give up can they reach the girl before it is too late?

It is a staple of monster films that you keep the creature in darkness until the big reveal at the climax. In The Host the monster has its introduction in broad daylight and for a long extended rampage through Seoul. As much as this film is undeniably a monster movie it does not even begin to fit into the B-grade trappings typical of such works. There's no group of hapless victims getting picked off one by one. There's no hammy acting that has no setting between running screaming and facing death bravely. This film rises well above all that and states its intent and scope early and clearly.

Even though the creature gets an early reveal it is actually absent for extended portions of the film. Instead the bulk of the film's focus is on the oddball family following the initial attack from the monster.. The audience watches as this family grieves and then determines to not give up and try to recover their lost girl against the wishes of local authorities. Normally in movies like this such a shift away from monster mayhem would feel like padding because the characters are not interesting and are only there to be cannon fodder. That is definitely not the case here. All of the characters are layered and unique and the interaction between them is delightfully strange and yet very real all at once. The Host also has a strong commentary running through it about those in control, and the US military specifically. The satire is biting but never feels mean spirited so there is no reason that it should alienate an American audience.

The visuals in this film are wonderful in a very non-flashy way. The CGI effects (namely the titular monster) never have a "look at what we can do" feel to them. They're just really well executed and integrated into the film and the environment almost seamlessly. The creature itself is wonderfully unique in both general design and in its movement. This was a creature designed to feel like a real animal, not just something to put fright into the audience. Whether it is swinging along under a bridge or losing its footing on a slick hill the monster feels very genuine thanks to its novel design and many small and loving touches by the animators.

The Host also possesses a rather wicked sense of humor. There are many wonderful moments in the film that will bring a smile to your face even if you wouldn't expect it to. The humor is nearly always present but is not played out in clean jokes with set ups and punch-lines. Rather there are just many real world moments that make total sense but are rarely shown on film. Things like a father grabbing the hand of the wrong kid when trying to flee the monster, or the above mentioned slipping of the monster during it's rampage give the movie great little moments without ever undercutting the heavier aspects. The misfit nature of the family and their borderline disfunctional relationships also provide a good deal of the humor.

This is, simply put, a beautifully realized film that goes above and beyond anything that a monster movie has any right to be. It's more than just thrilling and exciting, it's frequently funny and even touching at times. It features characters that the viewer will actually care about, which almost never happens in a monster film. It is not just a good time at the movies; it is a genuinely good piece of cinema.

Final Score: 4.5 out of 5