X
- 2007
- R
- Magnolia Pictures
- 2 h
- 2007
- R
- Magnolia Pictures
- 2 h
Summary Utilizing state-of-the-art special effects, The Host is both a creature-feature thrill ride and a poignant human drama. (Magnolia Pictures)
Directed By: Bong Joon Ho
Written By: Won-jun Ha, Chul-hyun Baek, Bong Joon Ho
- 2007
- R
- Magnolia Pictures
- 2 h
- 2007
- R
- Magnolia Pictures
- 2 h
The Host
7.3
Where to Watch
Summary Utilizing state-of-the-art special effects, The Host is both a creature-feature thrill ride and a poignant human drama. (Magnolia Pictures)
Directed By: Bong Joon Ho
Written By: Won-jun Ha, Chul-hyun Baek, Bong Joon Ho
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 35 Critic Reviews
85
97% Positive
34 Reviews
34 Reviews
3% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 35 Critic Reviews
85
97% Positive
34 Reviews
34 Reviews
3% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
I have seen The Host twice and have every intention of watching it again.
A cross between "Godzilla" and "Jaws," it manages to be both truly scary and truly funny – sometimes all at once.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 186 User Ratings
7.3
77% Positive
144 Ratings
144 Ratings
15% Mixed
27 Ratings
27 Ratings
8% Negative
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 186 User Ratings
7.3
77% Positive
144 Ratings
144 Ratings
15% Mixed
27 Ratings
27 Ratings
8% Negative
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
This movie takes a tired genre and makes it fresh **** Host has a assort met off genre all mixed together but the main one is the giant monster genre though,This movie is a satire/dramedy/horror/movie monster/thriller and **** acting in this film is amazing every actor feels right for the role in the get go, storyline isn't weak either it's start out simple than turns into a suspense **** Special effects even though it might look not all that good but it works.Great epic story of how a overly worried problem helps a family come together for once.
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To shamelessly appropriate and warp the catchphrase of a beloved cartoon character, The Host is smarter than the average monster movie. As is the case with all truly great monster films, the narrative isn't about the monster at all, not really, it only serves as a device to move the story along. Also, the creature itself does not present the real threat to our heroes, rather it stands in for a greater evil of society, in this case, the corruption of the Korean government and state-run institutions and the morally questionable invasive interference by the USA in Korean affairs. Writer/director Bong Joon-ho has not only created a smart and entertaining thriller, but a tender family drama and a rip-roaring comedy. The hilariously dysfunctional Park family are all great characters, and you can really empathise with their plight as they frantically search for their youngest, Hyun-seo (Ko Ah-seong) who has been taken by the monster. Son Kang-ho as always makes a compelling central protagonist, and makes the perpetually napping failure Gang-doo a comical but incredibly sympathetic character, and he is reunited with fellow regular Bong Joon-ho collaborators Byeon Hee-bong, Park Hae-il and Bae Doona playing the rest of the constantly bickering Park family. Their squabbles and ever-increasing desperation in failing to find Hyun-seo, though undeniably poignant, also provide plenty of opportunity for humour. Bong is a true master of black comedy, extremely skilled at getting a laugh out of the most unexpected situation - take, for instance the scene where the Parks gather around the shrine for the dead and missing post-monster attack. In most films, this scene would be a solemn one, but here Bong uses the family's extreme reaction to their plight, the unanimous blame of Gang-doo for the accidental loss of his daughter, and the insults the family trade with each other for their various shortcomings to provide the funniest moment of the film. It's a perfect balance of tone, of the dark and the light, of tragedy and comedy as the Park family clumsily grapple with each other in their hysteria and collapse, wailing on the floor in a heap. The more restrained, emotionally sensitive moments in the film are handled no less skillfully (particularly the lip-wobbling moment when the family patriarch Hee-bong finally opens up to his children and confesses how much he truly cares for his eldest son Gang-doo while said son is apparently fast asleep) and the action is thrilling, with the CGI holding up remarkably well considering the film's modest budget. Bong Joon-ho continually pushes boundaries and challenges filmmaking conventions, but never loses sight of what really matters - character, story and entertainment. You'd have to be a complete moron to dismiss The Host as just another dumb creature feature. It's incredibly intelligent, political, and despite its sci-fi trappings, it is grounded in believable human experience. Most directors, if they're lucky, will produce a single masterpiece in their career. Bong Joon-ho has thus-far only directed four feature films, and two of those - Memories of Murder and The Host, in my humble opinion, are masterpieces.
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With a subversive streak as wide as the Han and a title open to interpretation, The Host confounds our expectations while providing top-notch entertainment. For Bong, the monster movie is an ample vessel, one that he can fill with social criticism while discovering exuberant amusement in the process.
Boon's film is both funny and heartbreaking, a supremely confident mix of political satire, free-floating paranoia, fractured family dynamics and the kind of comedy that regularly reconfigures itself into tragedy.
A thrilling ride and a sometimes dry, sometimes sweet comedy, but beneath all that is a humane and tragic view of life worthy of the greatest films. Even those without rubber monsters.
I never thought I'd crack up watching a family mourn the death of a beloved daughter. But I've never seen a film quite like The Host, and that's far from the most bizarre thing in it.
In "Jaws," you didn't know whether to laugh or to scream. In The Host, the yocks rarely mesh with the yucks.
A smart and wildly entertaining horror film. Gory, funny, and thrilling, The Host is a can't miss for horror fans from director Bong Joon-ho.
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Les films coréens sont bizarres en général et en particulier celui-ci, ce "drôle" de film avec un gros monstre dedans... un "drôle" de film, car on ne sait jamais si c'est de lard ou du cochon, une caricature à l'insu de son ignorance, une franche comédie ou un drame larmoyant mélodramatique violoneux comme les Coréens savent (aussi) le faire.
Bref, on ne sait pas sur quel pied danser et c'est fort désagréable parce que du coup, on a bien l'air con. Quand le monstre bouffe des gens pour les régurgiter ensuite (!) on se dit que c'est pour rigoler (?) ; le coup de l'agent jaune (en référence sans nul doute à l'agent orange du Vietnam) est-ce du pur cynisme ou une simple pique à l'égard des Américains ? ; cette espèce de famille constituée de crétins complètement idiots qui partent à la chasse au monstre, la fleur au fusil, c'est bien pour rire, non ?...
Putain, je suis perdu. C'est comme cette fin mi-figue mi-raisin. Mais bon, en dehors de ces considérations d'interprétations, le film bénéficie d'une mise en scène très correcte malgré un budget apparemment limité (les effets spéciaux sont pauvres, pour ne pas dire minables) et malgré ses presque deux heures, on ne s'y ennuie pas ! ce qui n'est déjà pas si mal, finalement.
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[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
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Wow i really was expecting such a great monster movie with plenty of scares and good effects and acting, or at least that's what all of the movie critics were saying. So when i saw this movie at blockbuster, i decided "why not? everyone says its a good movie" so i rented it, little did i know that i was being lured into the biggest crap-fest that i have ever seen in my life. For starters, the plot really made no sense at all, I mean, why would toxic acid turn a fish into a giant monster?, and if so, then how come only ONE fish was affected by the acid, when there's at least a couple hundred fish in the lake. Secondly, the acting was laughable and couldn't fool a four year old, and quite frankly, neither could the "monster". Lastly, the dubbing, I really hated how this was a Korean movie and was meant to STAY in Korea but some idiot decided to translate it to English so they could bring this garbage film over to America, and the dubbing **** so bad, i ,mean when the people were done talking , their mouths were still moving. this movie ****, bottom line, and if you want to see a GOOD monster film then i recommend "the mist"
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Production Company
Chungeorahm Film,
Boston Investments,
CJ E&M Film Financing & Investment Entertainment & Comics,
CJ E&M Pictures,
CJ Venture Investment,
Cowell Investment Capital Co.,
Happinet(I).,
IMM Venture Capital,
Knowledge & Creation Ventures,
M-Venture Investment,
OCN,
Sego Entertainment,
Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS),
Tube Pictures
Release Date Mar 9, 2007
Duration 2 h
Rating R
Tagline It is Lurking Behind You
Awards
Grand Bell Awards, South Korea
• 2 Wins & 11 Nominations
Blue Dragon Awards
• 5 Wins & 10 Nominations
Cine21
• 4 Wins & 5 Nominations
