Summary: In the year 2000, an employee at a US Military Base in South Korea dumps several bottles' worth of formaldehyde down a laboratory drain and into the Han River. Six years later, a strange fish-slash-frog-like creature appears under a bridge, attacking innocent bystanders and creating a worldwide panic cum virus scare. Thirteen year old Park Hyun Seo, whose family runs a small food shop by the crime scene, ends up being dragged down into the monster's lair, a sewer full of limp, lifeless bodies. To make matters worse, the authorities refuse to believe her father, Gang Du, who insists that his daughter is still alive. Now, it is up to the Park family, composed of archery ace Nam Joo, unemployed university grad Nam Il, slightly dimwitted Gang Du, and their tolerant, spoonfeeding father, to rescue their precious Hyun Seo - right under the noses of the SKorean government, from whom they have escaped.
The first time I saw the trailer for The Host at our University Film Center, Cine Adarna, I thought it would be good - as in ass-kicking, scream-inducing good. Now that I've seen it though, I think it's one of those movies where the trailers are better than the real thing. Acting-wise, The Host is very good - the casting is amazing, and I'm very happy with the actors who portrayed their characters very well. In terms of music, too, I think the movie is effective; although that opinion is apparently not one I share with Ate Dee, who commented on the poor match-up between the orchestral score and the gory monster scenes.
The plain, same-old story is what brings The Host down. Although some twists are really cool [like miscounting bullets and breaking homemade soju bombs] the plot isn't anything great. Certainly, it's nothing new; we've all heard of the biological whatnot mutating into a mass-murdering creature, and we've seen films about virus epidemics, too. In the end, though, I don't hate the writers, because, as I'm now writing fanfiction, I realize how difficult it is to come up with anything original AND sane AND effective. [And may I please just rant about how disappointed I am that the New Moon script hasn't been adapted properly from the book? Cheesy lines every nine nanoseconds may have worked in print, but I'm telling you, they sound WRONG onscreen.]
Overall, The Host is nothing great, so I"ll give it two stars. I deducted the other three stars for: 1) unoriginal plot; 2) yawn-worthy moments; and, 3) sheer lack of the "glued to the edge of my seat" factor. The two stars I gave it are for: 1) plenty of laugh-out-loud moments; and, 2) Nam Il, Nam Joo and the rest of the crazy Park family. Watch only if very bored and low on movie options.
PS. I may be a bit biased because I don't like monster movies much.
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