Review of The Host (2006) by Kiefer F — 19 Aug 2009
The highest grossing film in South Korea ever, The Host is hard to catergorise. Is it a horror? A comedy? A familial drama? An environmental allegory? It's actually an amalgamation of them all, and the genius is how director Joon-ho Bong is able to seamlessly interweave them all, shifting between each when necessary without disjointing the film.
That's a hard trick to pull off, but Bong does it superbly. The monster itself is well designed and original-looking, and the effects team do a good job of giving this monster it's own personality to differentiate it from the countless other CGI beasties we've seen before.
The Host is very funny in parts (although the Korean style of humour won't do it for some), incredibly tense in others, while the central story of a family unit banding together to rescue one of their own is always effective and is handled particularly well here.
It does tail off at certain points, meandering slightly, but otherwise The Host is highly entertaining throughout, with plenty of laughs and a satircal streak running through it's core. Imagine Jaws, Cloverfield, Tremors and Godzilla thrown into a blender.
The Host is what emerges.
This review of The Host (2006) was written by Kiefer F on 19 Aug 2009.
The Host has generally received positive reviews.
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