It’s like The Whale That Swam To London only with the doomed whale substituted for a colossal, murderous monster and the location moved to Korea’s Han River.
Gang-du sees his daughter, Hyun-seo, snatched by the beast and apparently killed. After receiving a call that confirms that she’s still alive, Gang-du and his family launch upon a mission to save her.
Fortunately, The Host isn’t your regular monster movie. The otherwise fairly linear plot is permeated with an overriding theme of battling authority, a quite surreal sense of humour and emotive fallout that is very rarely applied to quite a fantastical structure.
The creature itself is brilliantly created; utterly convincing and seamlessly woven into the scenes. Although The Host can’t really be neatly pigeonholed into any one genre, it’s still surprising that the creature isn’t utilised across more screen time; after all, that’s precisely what horror aficionados will be most excited by. Still, Bong Joon-Ho’s unique vision makes The Host wonderfully entertaining.
