I don’t know of too many South Korean monster movies, but this one just might be one of the best out there.
This is one of the best written, best acted, and best directed monster movies I’ve seen. I’d say it can even hold its own against the original Gojira. Like Gojira, The Host has a strong message in it. This time, it’s a political message that’s sort of against the Korean government, as well as America.
Again, similar to Gojira, the movie and its monster are a reference to a real event. This time, it was when Americans stationed in the country ordered a Korean mortician to dump a bunch of dangerous chemicals down a drain, which caused a lot of environmental problems. This is referenced in the first scene of the movie, and serves as the origin of the monster. This is one of the few monsters that isn’t in any way related to radioactivity or an atom bomb. It didn’t need to be.
One thing I liked is that the film wastes no time in revealing the monster. I don’t even think it passes the 20 minute mark before the thing goes on its first rampage. Despite not having much build up to the reveal of the thing, the pacing throughout is great. Nothing felt rushed at all.
Discussing the monster, I thought the design was pretty well done. I have no clue what it’s supposed to be. I think it’s a mutant… tadpole… thing… on meth. Whatever the case may be, the creature looked alright. The CGI is definitely dated by today’s standards, but it still looks good for when it came out. Some parts do look very real even today, though. The behavior of the monster isn’t anything special, but does give the film several opportunities to have elements of a true horror film… and it took advantage of those moments. I like how it took people to its hideout and stored them there to eat later. I especially thought it was cool when it barfed up all the…. well, it was almost sickening when it happened, that’s all you need to know. The eeriness was all over this movie, and I loved it!
I also have to give points to the cinematography. The way some of the scenes were shot are really impressive. My favorite part is when the monster first comes out of the water, and it’s this long, continuous shot with no cuts. The monster doesn’t get too close to the camera, though. The way that part was filmed, how the monster remained mostly in the distance, made it feel like you were seeing it from sort of a bystander’s point of view, almost. I could describe it better, but you really need to see it for yourself.
Shockingly, the best element of the film wasn’t the monster, but the human drama. Very few monster films can get away with having this heavy of a focus on the humans. I found myself caring for these characters more than I did the ones from the most recent Godzilla movie. The actors play their roles perfectly. Those were some near Oscar worthy performances. I’m not kidding. The chemistry between the characters and their emotions, what they were going through, it all felt genuine throughout the entirety of the film. It’s not too often that a monster movie does that. Even the little girl did a great job! I think the few American actors in it could have done better, but they weren’t enough to bring the movie down. I think what made the drama feel so real was the fact that it isn’t dubbed. So many foreign movies are ruined because of bad dubbing. Thankfully, Netflix had the subtitled version. As I’ve said before, for me, it’s always easier to take foreign films seriously when it’s the original cut. Heck, I’m not sure there’s a dubbed version of this or not. I hope not! If there is, don’t watch it!
The political message in the movie is a lot different than the one in Gojira. It’s more about government and how apathetic it can be. The film sort of antagonizes America. It doesn’t just openly bash the country and say “America sucks” or something like that, but it’s obvious that America was responsible for the dangerous chemicals getting into rivers in real life, and caused a lot of controversy. I’ll admit, America isn’t perfect. In fact, it sucks sometimes. And given the real life events, I can’t blame them for portraying the military forces stationed there as apathetic. Again, the movie isn’t hating on the US like crazy. It’s doing it no more than any other film from any other place (including America itself) would.
I went into it expecting an average-ish sci-fi, but what I got was a dramatic, emotional experience that I’m glad I got to see. Great acting, great characters, great writing, good effects, what more could you ask for? It has the tone that I wanted from the recent Godzilla movie. More monster/kaiju films should be like this. If my word isn’t enough to make you curious, you should know that The Host did get many awards, and is regarded as one of the best Korean movies ever, is also at the time of writing this the second highest grossing Korean movie ever, and Quentin Tarantino has it on his list of best movies made since 1992 (the year he became a director). All I can say now is that you need to check this one out some time. Seriously, one of the best monster movies ever made.
FINAL RATING: 43 / 50
STORY: 4 / 5
ACTING: 5 / 5
CHARACTERS: 5 / 5
CGI/EFFECTS: 4 / 5
ACTION/DRAMA/HORROR: 5 / 5
SOUNDTRACK: 3 / 5
TONE: 5 / 5
ENJOYABILITY: 5 / 5
REWATCH VALUE: 4 / 5
OWNING VALUE: 3 / 5
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