Amazon.co.uk Review
The Host has managed to become Korea's most successful film to date, winning acclaim both domestically and internationally, and it's easy to see why. At first glance, it looks like any other monster movie--an amphibious creature from the depths stalks and devours an urban population--but there's actually much, much more going on beneath the surface. Not that there needs to be: although it has a fairly hefty 119-minute runtime, The Host is fast moving, with plenty of action and a truly gruesome-looking monster. Visually, it's a gorgeous movie, with stunning special effects and beautiful settings (even the rather nasty sewer scenes look perversely great). However, the real crux of The Host isn't really anything to do with the monster: at heart, this is a family drama, not a horror movie.
The story focuses on one small family and how they react to the weird goings-on all around them. When the youngest member of the family, Hyun-seo, is snatched by the titular monster, the family is devastated until a call from her mobile phone gives them fresh hope. Unfortunately, everyone who came into contact with the being has been quarantined due to a virus scare, so they have to escape the Korean authorities to go on a rescue mission. Then the American army steps in, and all hell breaks loose...
It's a very original idea, with nuanced and well-written characters, plenty of humour, and a darker undercurrent of social and political commentary, topped off with a thrilling monster-killing adventure. Brilliant, in other words. --Sarah Dobbs
Customer Reviews:
If this Fish gets you... you've had your Chips!.......2008-03-03
From the different comments I have seen about this move, the most accurate comes from the back of the DVD case itself... "the suspense of Jaws, the humour of Tremors, and the biting satire of Dawn Of The Dead. FANTASTIC." I wouldn't go so far as to call it fantastic, but it is good.
Although HOST has its scary moments, there's a little too much quirky humour for me to think it a horror movie, instead, I think of it as an enjoyable, albeit unorthodox Creature-Feature.
Unlike the majority of films of this ilk, there is no long, tension-building plot line before the monster is finally revealed in all its hideous glory, (thereby making its revelation the main focus of attention). Rather, HOST has a number of plot lines running simultaneously, one of which happens to be about a monster causing mayhem and snatching humans in broad daylight from under the noses of others (another unusual twist).
The CGI beastie is first class, to be honest it's far superior to what I expected (it's done by the same folk who did Superman Returns, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Sin City). The intertwining stories are engaging enough to hold the film together even without the Creature, so it won't take long to settle in and forget this is a 2 hour film in Korean with English subtitles though it does get a little surreal towards the end.
If you're feeling like a fishy Creature Feature with a bit of bite and a dollop of fun, this one's worth not letting get away. The only point of caution I'd make is that the related trailer above makes the film seem more menacing than I thought it actually was.
a film review.......2007-11-30
There tends to be a rule in cinema that a monster movie will have enough depth to fill a 2 minute trailer but will 99% of the time struggle to fill a 2 hour film. Korea's fist blockbuster however nails it dead on and falls within that rare 1%! The Host has a great satirical bite winding its way through a narrative of genuine thrills. It's main target is the reaction of the authorities in the face of an emergency alongside a perfect parody of the modern family that is carefully turned on & off at appropiate moments. It squeues convention and expectation through-out which makes a product that may be predictable in Western hands seem fresh and intelligent. Opting for a less than predictable ending & making any character expendable is its true strength. A great modern classic of the genre!
Hollywood Eat Your Heart Out. Korea Know How To Make A Creature Feature........2007-10-26
'The Host' is just outstanding in every single way.
It rolls horror and comedy into one making a perfect mix for two hours entertainment.
The storyline is fantastic and for those who don't take their films too seriously, this is a must.
The story is based around a father called Gang-Du, desperate to save his daughter Hyun-Seo from the terrible monster holding her captive in a sewer under Wonhyo Bridge with the aid of his sister, a professional archer called Nam-Joo and his father, Hee-Bong, the owner of a local snack van.
This is a wonderful film, packed with fantastic CGI and a cast that you will fall in love with. This is an epic horror film that many could view and enjoy without being too scared and not having to take anything seriously for 2 hours.
This is a great film and yet again, it's not from Britian or America.
The best in cinema lies within Foreign countries without a doubt.
A grand achievement for Korea.
Awesome!.......2007-10-12
Awesome creature feature from our Oriental friends. Just goes to show Hollywood what can be done with sheer inventiveness. Great stuff B+
Bong Joon Ho Does It Again.......2007-08-19
Terrific monster movie from Bong Joon Ho,director of the brilliant Memories of Murder,raises the bar of this genre to another level.
Combining the offbeat Korean sense of humour with marvellous ensemble playing,a desaturated palate and a first rate CGI monster( predominanntly seen in daylight),the story revolves around one family whose youngest member is carried off by the monster leaving her loved ones to fight the authorities,themselves and the monster to try and get her back.
Alternately scary,funny and especially at the end touching, this is superior stuff.Bong Joon Ho, on the strength of two films alone,is one of the best directors around.His command of style and editing while preserving the integrity of the story is formidable.
Contrary opinions of course can always be found from the more slight of mind.
Customer Reviews:
If this Fish gets you ... you've had your Chips!.......2008-03-03
From the different comments I have seen about this move, the most accurate comes from the back of the DVD case itself... "the suspense of Jaws, the humour of Tremors, and the biting satire of Dawn Of The Dead. FANTASTIC." I wouldn't go so far as to call it fantastic, but it is good.
Although HOST has its scary moments, there's a little too much quirky humour for me to think it a horror movie, instead, I think of it as an enjoyable, albeit unorthodox Creature-Feature.
Unlike the majority of films of this ilk, there is no long, tension-building plot line before the monster is finally revealed in all its hideous glory, (thereby making its revelation the main focus of attention). Rather, HOST has a number of plot lines running simultaneously, one of which happens to be about a monster causing mayhem and snatching humans in broad daylight from under the noses of others (another unusual twist).
The CGI beastie is first class, to be honest it's far superior to what I expected (it's done by the same folk who did Superman Returns, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Sin City). The intertwining stories are engaging enough to hold the film together even without the Creature, so it won't take long to settle in and forget this is a 2 hour film in Korean with English subtitles though it does get a little surreal towards the end.
If you're feeling like a fishy Creature Feature with a bit of bite and a dollop of fun, this one's worth not letting get away. The only point of caution I'd make is that the related trailer above makes the film seem more menacing than I thought it actually was.
[3.5]--To make horror or comedy is never easy........2007-08-28
To be able to make both at the same time is something only a few directors can do. To do that, and still be able to make an emotionally sad movie is not something I have seen before. After watching this I thought it was a good genre-blending movie. Director Joon-ho Bong Memories of Murder-(great film by the way) goes for a very character centric feel, using the Park family as the nucleus of the movie and not as you would expect the creature itself. In many ways the Host is more a natural disaster movie than a creature feature at times. Though like Godzilla, the creature is the result of man's disregard for the environment, that is really where a lot of the comparisons end. With this film being quite different from Toho's legendary suitmation icon's outings, which where all about the big G himself and humans merely incidental. Though you might be able to compare this a little more to the American Godzilla remake, if only to see how a CGI monster movie should be done and to remind yourself just how lame Roland Emmerich's movie really was. How ever when the creature does turn up in Bongs movie it does have a really good impact with several instances making me jump a bit, after being lulled into a false sense of security by the stretches of monster free screen time.
The initial appearance of the creature under the bridge and the chaos that ensues is some of the best creature action put on film in a long, long time. The creature is well designed and for the most part the CGI is very good. The way it moves is great and very original. I think they might have gone a bit overboard on the mouth design as this is a mutant of some kind and not an alien, but really that's being picky about a great design. Personally I would have liked just a bit more creature action in the rest of the film, I appreciate the director's idea to give it a sense of the dramatic and the real, but I didn't care that much about some of the character interplay and subplots. That said all the cast where pretty good in their roles with Kang-ho Song holding his own well in the starring role and Hie-bong Byeon excellent as his father. Newcomer Ah-sung Ko as the young Hyun-seo does an amazing job in her scenes around the creature considering its all CGI. She has some really convincing facial expressions and manages to give a really natural performance a million miles removed from that horrible precious trained acting kid stuff we put up with from many western movies.
"The Host" for the most part manages to be pretty successful at avoiding being as one dimensional as it so easily could have been (though that's not such a bad thing with creature features). Bong manages to balance comedy, terror, sadness and action well and create a believable human tale in amongst the unbelievable nature of the films theme. The film has a slightly, I won't say anti American, because that's not true, its more a slightly condemning look at the America's environmental polices or lack of them. One thing the story does present well is the way authorities so concerned with the big picture, will often ignore the individual. In this case leaving Kang du with only his family to turn to and the way the seemingly dysfunctional family without question band together to save Hyun-seo is great. The films finish is not anywhere near as strong as its start and though still good is a bit weak in my opinion, although it does manage to surprise in some ways. I'm sure this flick will be remade by Hollywood soon, though they may slightly alter the premise. "The Host" is the best creature feature in some time and its feeling of reality should appeal to a much wider audience than just fans of horror and sci-fi.
Whats that coming out of the river , is it a monster , a monster?.......2007-08-26
Its about time the old fashioned creature feature , much beloved of the 1950,s and 60s, underwent a renaissance and Korean film The Host could be the movie to kick start it. However this film has so much more going for it than the simple tale of some random freak beastie running amok and killing people , though be reassured there is plenty of that going on too.
The movie helmed by the director of the excellent "Memories Of Murder" Joon-ho Bong and adapted from a screenplay written by Bong and Chul- hyun Baek and Jun-won Ha incorporates a story about a dysfunctional family with a satirical element lambasting government incompetence and mendaciousness in the face of a crisis. It's like "The Royal Tenambaums " crossed with "Tremors" with a bit of "Outbreak " thrown in for good measure , though its actually far better than I made that sound.
The Park family own a snack bar at a popular riverfront location run by patriarch Hi-Bong( Hie-bong Byeon)His lazy grown up son Gang-du( Kang ho-Song) naps and watches TV but is also a dad to precocious teenage daughter Hyun-seo( Ah-sing Do).Bongs daughter Nam -joo( Du-na Bae) is a champion archer with a tendency to hesitate at vital moments while his other son Nam-il( Hae-il Park) is a floundering drunk. Their world is turned upside down when a n amphibian monster( Produced by the illegal dumping of chemicals in the river by the US army which is based on an actual incident) suddenly appears in Seoul's Han river , and runs creates havoc on the waterfront in the process grabbing Hyun -seo and taking her off to its lair.
The fact the film gives you a full view of the monster so early in the proceedings hints broadly that this is not going to be your conventional creature feature . There is none of the gradual reveal and tantalising glimpses usually associated with horror films and their monsters.
That's because the story here is as much about the family and how they set about trying to locate and save the youngster .The family must pool their resources and co-operate with each other in order to triumph and after a fractious grief stricken period , once they realise that the girl may still be alive this is what they do. Hyun-seo meanwhile proves to be resourceful and courageous even saving an young boy also dropped into the creatures lair and it's this relationship that provides a moving coda later on.
The narrative also has the government illicit panic about a fictitious virus and thus cause further chaos by doing so and then impart a solution that's actually more deadly than the problem it's supposed to be solving. There is also the usual attempts at a cover-up and how this also hinders the Park families increasingly desperate attempts to find their loved one as the powers hunt them down , fearing them contaminated with the phoney virus.
The multiple plots strands are handled deftly , though they do mean the film is longer than is maybe necessary and sometimes it becomes too hysterical and hectic. The film looks tremendous on DVD, even though it is often shot in dank , and dingy locations and the performances are uniformly terrific with the youngsters especially good.
The creature produced by a US computer graphics company -"Orphanage Inc" - is a believable creation and is mostly brilliantly done .It moves in a creepily realistic way (It was called Steve Buscemi on set and was based on the way his character moved in the film "Fargo")and while it does resemble previous movie monsters (elements of "Relic" ,"Alien " and "Predator" especially) it is original enough to stand on it's own four fin like feet.
The Host is not only entertaining and exciting it raises the usual issues about mans awesome arrogance and ineptitude in a way that pays homage to the creature features of old while giving a topical sardonic edge that they lacked. A massive success in it's native Korea it will hopefully , like I mentioned before ensure that monster movies undergo a revival . Quite right too as there are few finer sights in a movie than a monster on the rampage ,Scarlett Johansen in a corset accepted.
Creature Feature.......2007-08-20
This one starts with a bang...whilst most creature features spend an inordinate amount of time building up to the moment when the beast is revealed The Host bends this genre convention by introducing us to the monster very early. It's a good trick although does mean that the rest of the movie seems to lack the tension that I'd normally associate with this sort of film.
And I don't know if it's my western sensibility at odds with a Korean film, but I found that the general tone of the film was difficult to judge...I found it swinging between black comedy and hysterical tragedy.
It's a difficult one to recommend...although it's worth watching for the acrobatic monster. Rent before buying is probably the best advice.
Good but not great - thoroughly entertaining!.......2007-06-29
I should say first off that I really enjoyed this film - I didn't really know anything about it, but I know the director from his other work, and I'd heard some good things. It was a thoroughly entertaining watch!
On the good side, the creature, the 'Host', is superb, and it makes a great change to have it out in the open causing mayhem. It's movement and reactions are fantastic and more natural than Hollywood would ever allow, and it looks and feels like a real animal because of it. The first 'rampage' is thrilling, and gets things off to a fantastic start. The main characters, especially the father of the little girl taken by the creature, are brilliantly engaging, and I really cared about the outcome by the end.
There are some big problems with this film. The main one is a distinct lack of really chilling or frightening moments, although there are plenty of jaw-dropping and exciting ones instead! The fact that this film was made in Korea, and by a truly original director, are the main reasons for its appeal for me - the look and feel, the entire approach are different from what we expect, and it keeps your interest. However sometimes the differences distract from the story - the emotions of the characters at key moments sometimes seem very strange and jarred with my own.
Overall I would certainly recommend it - for those who enjoy Asian cinema, for horror fans who don't demand too many 'shocks' or for anyone who enjoys something a bit different from the norm. It's an original, enjoyable but somewhat flawed effort, and I'm not sure if I'll watch it again in the near future.
Customer Reviews:
Pile of Tosh.......2007-09-25
This is the biggest pile of tosh you are ever likely to see. A mate mentioned it was a good movie another mate popped up and said whatever you do don't watch it. I listened to mate A and I can't believe I bought this on blu-ray. Imagine a giant killer cat fish on the loose in a city, after being genetically modified after chemicals are dumped in the sewer. Ohh its Korean as well not that I hold that against it but I just had the impression all the way through that they had taken one of those old Godzilla B&W movies and remade it, except where the hell was godzilla. DO NOT. REPEAT DO NOT BUY, WATCH OR EVEN CONSIDER THIS MOVIE. And don't do what I did and listen to the mate that said it was good.
Amazon.co.uk Review
At first glance, The Host looks like any other monster movie--an amphibious creature from the depths stalks and devours an urban population--but there's actually much, much more going on beneath the surface. Not that there needs to be: although it has a fairly hefty 119-minute runtime, The Host is fast moving, with plenty of action and a truly gruesome-looking monster. Visually, it's a gorgeous movie, with stunning special effects and beautiful settings (even the rather nasty sewer scenes look perversely great). However, the real crux of The Host isn't really anything to do with the monster: at heart, this is a family drama, not a horror movie. The story focuses on one small family and how they react to the weird goings-on all around them. When the youngest member of the family, Hyun-seo, is snatched by the titular monster, the family is devastated until a call from her mobile phone gives them fresh hope. Unfortunately, everyone who came into contact with the being has been quarantined due to a virus scare, so they have to escape the Korean authorities to go on a rescue mission. Then the American army steps in, and all hell breaks loose...
It's a very original idea, with nuanced and well-written characters, plenty of humour, and a darker undercurrent of social and political commentary, topped off with a thrilling monster-killing adventure. Brilliant, in other words. --Sarah Dobbs
Customer Reviews:
Just so you know..........2007-11-25
This is actually a fairly good horror/monster movie. But I thought I should just clear something up - the main language is Korean. The English part is a dubbed recording, which annoyed me slightly (but, then again, it is a Korean movie after all...). Subtitles are available in English, but they don't actually match what is being said for some reason.
This is all based on a HD DVD I bought back in August here in Switzerland (it seems its been out ages here).
Customer Reviews:
Pile of Tosh.......2007-09-25
This is the biggest pile of tosh you are ever likely to see. A mate mentioned it was a good movie another mate popped up and said whatever you do don't watch it. I listened to mate A and I can't believe I bought this on blu-ray. Imagine a giant killer cat fish on the loose in a city, after being genetically modified after chemicals are dumped in the sewer. Ohh its Korean as well not that I hold that against it but I just had the impression all the way through that they had taken one of those old Godzilla B&W movies and remade it, except where the hell was godzilla. DO NOT. REPEAT DO NOT BUY, WATCH OR EVEN CONSIDER THIS MOVIE. And don't do what I did and listen to the mate that said it was good.
Customer Reviews:
Pile of Tosh.......2007-09-25
This is the biggest pile of tosh you are ever likely to see. A mate mentioned it was a good movie another mate popped up and said whatever you do don't watch it. I listened to mate A and I can't believe I bought this on blu-ray. Imagine a giant killer cat fish on the loose in a city, after being genetically modified after chemicals are dumped in the sewer. Ohh its Korean as well not that I hold that against it but I just had the impression all the way through that they had taken one of those old Godzilla B&W movies and remade it, except where the hell was godzilla. DO NOT. REPEAT DO NOT BUY, WATCH OR EVEN CONSIDER THIS MOVIE. And don't do what I did and listen to the mate that said it was good.
UK DVD:
- The Last Winter [2006]
- The Messengers [2007]
- The Omen Pentology
- The Relic [1997]
- The Ring Two [2005]
- The Shining [1980] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- The Short Films of David Lynch [2006] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 - Leatherface [1990]
- The Wicker Man - Special Edition Director's Cut (2 disc set) [1973]
- Underworld - Evolution [Blu-ray] [2006]
UK DVD List
UK DVD
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