Movie Title: The Host
First Watch / Repeat Viewing
Running Time: 2 hr.
Rated: R
Who did I watch with?: Stephie
Where did I watch it?: Home
Review:
The Host is a giant monster flick produced out of South Korea. The film opens with a lab pouring formaldehyde down the drain. The lab technician hems and haws, but ultimately does as he is told. Shortly afterward a horrible mutated creature crawls out of the sewer and starts a rampage. During the rampage Park Gang-Doo (Kang-ho Song) has his daughter abducted by the creature. He thinks she is dead, but quickly finds out that she survived the attack. The monster is keeping its victims alive to use them as incubators. Despite being infected and put under quarantine by the government Park Gang-Doo escapes to try and find his daughter.
I want to cut the movie some slack because it is dubbed into English extremely poorly. The voice actors performing the dubs are poorly cast and the movie’s subtitle options were non-existent. I hope the dialogue is better in Korean, but unfortunately it is terrible in English. The performances are likewise awful put onto celluloid. The acting is reminiscent of Japanese movies from the 50s. Unfortunately the movie lacks the directorial ability of a Kurosawa. They are extremely dramatic and the movie features the worst funeral scene I have ever seen. Its terrible. The movie also can’t settle on a tone. It tries to be a family drama with comedy elements and a monster movie and it fails at all of them. The creature special effects are lousy and the design of the creature makes very little sense especially when it swings from its tail like a monkey. How exactly would an aquatic creature adapt such skills? For some reason this movie is widely considered to be excellent and I just don’t get it.
Verdict:
It is an incredibly boring movie with strange pacing and mind boggling directorial choices. Skip it.
Tomorrow’s Movie: Trouble Every Day (2001)
