The story begins in Seoul with an irresponsible American military chemist ordering his Korean assistant to dump a large supply of formaldehyde straight down the sink and into the Han river. Some time later, a large crowd gathers on the banks of the river, curious of a strange, dark shape that hangs from a bridge before plummeting into the water.
Working on the waterfront at his father’s food stall, the dim-witted Park Gang-du (Song Kang-ho) is among the crowd who are then terrorized by a mutated river-creature. In the chaos, he loses his daughter Hyun-seo (Ko Ah-seong), believing she’s dead until he gets a muffled call over his cell phone. Determined to rescue his daughter, Gang-du must elude military authorities (who believe he’s been infected with a dangerous virus) and hunt a monster side by side with his somewhat eccentric family.
Jaws Meets Tremors in Bong Joon-ho’s Genre-hybrid
The Host has been touted as a Jaws meets Tremors sort of affair, and it does have elements of both, while not quite matching Jaws for drama or Tremors for fun, even if it does come close. However, what you also get is a film with elements of horror (from the Re-animator-esque opening to suspenseful scenes of close-quarter confinement with the creature) along with a heavy dose of Joon-ho’s satire against the political agendas and militarism of American forces in Seoul. As usual, distributors have to sell the film as “this meets that”, not “both and more”, neglecting the fact that The Host is a true hybrid film.
Given the director’s not-so-subversive swipes at American politics, which also includes a chemical called Agent Yellow (as opposed to Agent Orange, used by American forces during the Vietnam war), it would be no surprise if the film itself is a deliberate genre-hybrid created by the influx of “toxic waste” that is American popular culture into Korean society, just as the creature itself is a conglomeration of mutated river life.
If that is the case it’s a somewhat contradictory message to the fact that this is a crackingly well-made film with clear Western influence, doing what many of Korea’s best directors are doing by embracing the good in Western film-making and rejecting the bad. While it might be argued that The Host would be a more effective piece if it had dedicated itself to one of the many genres that it piles in, the film’s hybrid nature does make it more receptive to subsequent viewings. Also, Bong Joon-ho is obviously a director of high quality and irrespective of those other points the film is brilliantly composed (with cinematographer Kim Hyung-goo also taking credit for that).
The Host Cast
The ‘everyman’ of Korean film is present again, with Song Kang-ho leading the cast. (The Foul King, Memories of Murder, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, The Good the Bad the Weird, and many, many more). Kang-ho is always versatile and always delivers, here fulfilling the role of the hapless Gang-du with his usual, and unique, style.
Kang-ho is joined by Byeon Hee-bong as his aging father, Bae Doona as his talented though hesitant sister just returned from competing in Olympic archery, and Park Hae-il as his rebellious, alcoholic brother. Simply put, some deliberately hokey acting is supplemented by the fact that they’re all genuinely capable actors and they come together to create an amusingly disfunctional family.
A mention should also go to Ko Ah-seong as the daughter Hyun-seo, whose character is used to good effect – sharing the aforementioned close-quarters with the creature – and Ah-seong more than carries her own weight through the film. That’s a particularly good thing considering that most of the actual drama comes from her role.
The Host Summary
Overall, The Host is a minor classic that will entertain the vast majority of those who see it. It’s full of good performances from cast and crew with some surprisingly stunning special effects (and praiseworthy for the fact that the first attack of the creature is shown vividly and in broad daylight).
Joon-ho, who has only made a half dozen films over the past decade, is nevertheless one of Korea’s foremost directors, and with Gweomul 2 reportedly in production is one to keep up with.
For anyone who happens to be looking for a Horror/Comedy/Drama b-movie-that’s-not-a-b-movie, then The Host should be high on your list of priorities. For everyone else, this is still more than worth a watch.
- Producer: Choi Yong-bae
- Director: Bong Joon-ho
- Screenplay: Bong Joon-ho, Baek Chul-hyun
- Starring: Song Kang-ho, Byeon Hee-bong, Bae Doona, Park Hae-il, Ko Ah-seong
- Released: July 2006 (South Korea) by Chungeorahm Film & Showbox Entertainment
- Running Time: 120 mins approx
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