The Host (2006) - Analysis and Review

The "JAWS" of Korea, and it is brilliant!

Just as how my review of the Korean film, The Good, The Bad, The Weird, states that a Korean film triumphs with a western adventure blockbuster better than Hollywood, The Host is a triumph in the monster horror adventure film that Hollywood has abandoned. This is the first film I ever saw created by the brilliant director, Bong Joon-Ho. His upcoming film Snowpiercer starring Chris Evans will be making its way to the U.S. soon which looks like another triumph in Korean filmmaking over Hollywood blockbusters. But before that, I must talk about this movies: The HOST.

The Plot

When snack vendor Gang-Du (Song Kang-ho) witnesses his daughter getting taken by a mysterious fish monster, his world goes spiraling out of control as a virus begins to break out in the city shortly after the monsters appearance. Forced into quarantine with his family and several others who first witnessed the monster's rampage, Gang-Du must escape in order to locate the monster that has taken his daughter.

Analysis

The monster movie genre has never really be used to its fullest potential. When JAWS came out, a bunch of imitators have tried to replicate the success. Mainly by just having a ravenous animal attacking people. But that's not so much what made JAWS successful. It was the characters and the need to show restraint of showing the creature. That is what helped Ridley Scott's ALIEN become such a success by following those traits but not trying to copy the exact same story. John Carpenter's The Thing also benefits from this but instead of having restraint in showing the creature, the creatures are shown in full form but can change their appearance making them unpredictable as to where they will be next.

It is a genre that hasn't been tapped into a long time. Sure there have been Godzilla films but nothing like this. If an American studio were to make this a movie, and they had planned on remaking it back when it first came out in 2006, I already know it is going to lack the heart. American audiences are all about the spectacle these days instead of the stories of the characters. I come up with this point due to people preferring to see Godzilla destroying things rather than a human story. So there come stat question of whether to do one or the other? Who is more important? The story of the characters and their development or the rampaging monster on the loose? The answer in this film is both can exist in perfect balance.

Unlike JAWS which showed restraint in revealing the shark, this film does no such thing. It immediately shows the creature, but it makes its entrance into the film memorable. The design is very unique in that usually in giant monster films, the beast is gigantic, but in this one the creature is no bigger than a bus. It is a bold move to show the creature immediately, something that has been done in American monster horror films before but for some reason it did not have the same impact? Why is that? Again. The characters and the story are what matters.

Review

This is how it is done. This is what a monster movie should be. Strong characters: In this case a very lovable yet dysfunctional family that you genuinely believe will do anything to save one of their own.  Strong story: a mysterious monster releases a viral outbreak that has the city in quarantine with a father desperate to get his daughter back from the beast. Strong themes: in this film it may not be apparent to Americans, but this is definitely a direct reaction to an incident involving America and South Korea. To put it simply, Americans are the bad guys. We are indirectly responsible for the creation of the monster, and are directly responsible for taking advantage of the situation in order to have a hold over South Korea. All these elements help elevate this monster movie above and beyond what it is on the surface to something that is truly spectacular.

The cast is brilliant. Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Doona, and Go Ah-sung are all brilliant in their roles as the dim-wited protagonist, the stern but caring father, the stuck in the glory days brother, the successful yet timid sister and the daughter who fights to survive. This is a family that you wish you were a part of during better times because seeing them at their worst is really heart wrenching. The scene when they believed that the daughter was dead was borderline pulling on heartstrings while also being strangely funny to watch. It is a brilliant balance of how a family can't really stay serious but would try to be funny at appropriate times to make their situation more easier. And in a dark time of not knowing if your daughter is alive in the hands of a literal monster, it really goes to show how strong a small moment of comedy can help bring hope. It is hard to give a standout performance in this film but if there had to be one, then it is by the daughter. Go Ah-sung's performance as the captive daughter was extremely convincing and watching a young girl having to grow up into survivalist was one of the great subplots of the film. She weighs her opportunities for escape while also coming to terms with the fact she may not make it out alive.

The creature in this film is also one of the most smartly designed creatures in a long time. It is ugly. There is nothing cool about it. It is just straight up ugly. And really does resemble what a fish would realistically look like had it been mutated by weird chemicals. The design was to give it various abilities such as running, swimming, climbing, and swinging from high beams with its tail. This is a creature that very much acts like a creature. By nature it just wants to live, and how it lives is by eating people occasionally. One of the best creature moments in the film was when it was outside in clear view with its mouth open just drinking the rain. Usually in monster movies the creature would never do such a thing, but a small moment like that makes it believable that this thing doesn't really care if its seen.

Final Thoughts

Bong's directing and creativity with the film definitely shines. It is one of the best monster movies made in a long time as well as maintaining that blockbuster flavor that has been missing in Hollywood for years. Be on the look out for any movie this guy makes, especially his efforts into big budget Sci-Fi with Snowpiercer. This is a film that will make one believe that the monster movie blockbuster is alive again. Whether or not we'll see another monster movie with such powerful storytelling and an original creature remains to be seen. Gareth Edwards' Godzilla comes close yet lacks the powerful narrative or originality that this film has. It can be done. This film proves it.

SCORE: 9/10 - The Korean monster movie blockbuster that trumps modern American efforts