The Host (2006)

HIGHLY RECOMMEND WATCHING THIS MOVIE.
This movie is a masterpiece by the talented director Bong Joon-ho. The genre for this movie is a horror but this does not mean that it obeys every convention of a 'normal' horror movie.

Bong uses The Host to address the political relationship between America and South Korea. This movie is often seen as a very anti-America film BUT this is not what Bong intended. Bong does not paint the South Korean people featured within the film well either.

Bong addresses the issue of heroism in America; he addresses the Korean people's attachment to cellphones and technology; he addresses political relationships; family relationships; etc etc etc

This movie may NOT seem like a horror movie. It is but then it also is not. It is not a gruesome movie, it does not have much gore, and the moments of tension and anxiousness that the Host will inflict on the viewer is broken will moments of black humor. These inserts of humor is not to get 'cheap laughs' but to distance the viewer from what is being shown on screen. The humor that Bong uses makes the viewer remember that it is just a story, it is a movie and not real, then the viewer can watch and make a judgement on the relationships being shown on screen without leaving the theater jumpy and scared.

The monster within the Host was accidentally created by the American base dumping a toxic chemical into the Han River. This is very significant as a situation like this happened in reality. The American base's morgue dumped hundreds of liters of embalming fluid into the Han river in 2000. The Han river did become toxic because of this. (although some people claim that this is only a myth).
During the Host Bong addresses some of the political issues between South Korea and America that are present in reality.

This movie was so popular in South Korea that 20% of the total population of South Korea, even today, watched The Host at the cinema (this does not include people watching it more than one or home viewings). I highly recommend watching this movie as it is not only an enjoyable storyline but it gives insight into reality.

I live in New Zealand and in my University Cinema Studies course The Host was featured and analyzed. This movie is influential enough to have been recognized in such a small country as New Zealand. I high recommend watching this movie.
Also if you are put off by the genre Horror don't be, this is not a conventional horror movie, to the casual viewer it will seem more to be more like a Thriller than Horror. And if you are put off by my review please don't be. This movie is a great watch on the surface and very enjoyable to the casual viewer.

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This is my first time ever watching such a movie, Honest truth I really wouldn't be into thee kinds of movies on my own. It's not the kind of a story I'd look upon my own. This movie aired here on Norwegian tv with subs so I decided to give it a go. This review will be written from my own point of view on the movie.



First to start it off. I can't say I was to impressed about the music shown in the movie. I didn't expect much upon it, Still it wasn't too much to brag about the music. I felt that some of the music was just there and might not really be to fitting upon the scenes it was added into.



The story progressed kinda as expected from having read the review. I felt that most of the movie went to revolve about the main girl. I liked the movie for its storyline and acting. The actors did a really good job upon acting out the different characters. The story basically revolves around Park Hyun Seo. A young girl who by a mistake gets taken away by a mutated monster from the sea upon her father making a mistake grabbing the wrong persons hand while trying to flee. By the time he notices it is already to late to go and get her back as the monster already is right behind her about to take her. Her father starts grieving as he believes he has lost his only daughter. Later that night upon being admitted to the hospital he recieves a call from his daughter saying she is stuck hiding in the sewers and that she is alive. An ask for help turns into a family mission as her entire family heads out to find Park Hyun Seo. And it doesn't make things easier that the korean society aswell as police officers are out to catch their family because of a possibly deadly virus they may have gotten. The story takes on unexpected twists and it will show you just how strong a family bond really is, Aswell as the bond between a father and a daughter.



The genres of the movie were, Comedy, Drama and Horror.

I can understand why they put in the comedy and drama genres, But in overall the story didn't justify as a horror movie. It didn't scare you nor make you especially uptight.



It was a really good movie, I gave it a steady 7. I would recommend people to see it. The story will have you watching all the way, Allthough the movie might start off as somehow boring, It won't turn out that way..



Will Park Hyun Seo be saved?

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