Go See The Host!
I wrote this review for my class, but I think everyone should read it and then go see the movie. BTW, I would totally be willing to see it again . . .
The Host
Okay, here’s the deal: a giant mutated fish monster is terrorizing people in South Korea. It has killed and eaten dozens, but one man believes his daughter may have survived the attack. He and his family - an unemployed grad student, an old man who runs a food stand, and a bronze medal-winning archer - are the only ones who can save her.
No, really, it’s much better than it sounds.
Though monster movies are usually the worst horror fare in existence, The Host is one of the best scary movies in years. Like Scream, The Host mixes comedy and horror, a formula that can only be called genre-bending. One minute, you’re watching a creature swim toward land as the onlookers start throwing their beer and food at the creature, like they’re feeding ducks. The next minute, everyone’s running frantically to get away from the rampaging mutant.
Such juxtapositions are at the heart of the movie, and that, above anything else, is what creates an emotional investment in the Park family, the five individuals at the center of the film. Park Gang-du is the young father of Hyun-seo, a seventh grader whose mother left after her birth. Gang-du is hapless and unambitious - the first time we see of him, he’s asleep at the counter of the family’s food stand. At first, it’s not even clear that he’s Hyun-seo’s father; his childlike interactions with her could lead to any number of connections between the two. But when the monster attacks, he grabs ahold of her hand and runs frantically, trying to find a place for her to hide. When he loses her to the monster, he just stands there, watching in horror as the creature takes her away.
This begins the family’s quest to retrieve the little girl, an odyssey that endangers all their lives.
The sensitive portrayal of all the characters mixed with the ever-changing genre really makes you care what happens to these people. The wise, old patriarch of the family, Hie-bong, is in no more control of the situation than Gang-du; he makes a vow you immediately see as pointless, that he will not rest until the monster is killed. Gang-du’s brother, Nam-il, is a former grad student who can’t seem to get a job; he is alienated from his family, especially his brother, and only the threat to his niece’s life can bring him back into the fold. Nam-joo, the sister, is an accomplished archer whose “Achilles Heel” is her lack of speed. Hyun-seo is just an average middle schooler complaining about her out-dated cell phone, but when she finds herself in the monster’s lair, she becomes adult-like, an ability that probably came from dealing with her child-like father.
Each of the characters is distinct. You know these people, their weaknesses, their strengths, their relationships with each other. You know what their lives were like before the creature disturbs them, and you know that if anyone could destroy the monster, it’s not this family. And unlike most horror movies, you’re not sure any of them will survive.
The reason these characters seem so real is that sheer ridiculousness of their situation, a subject the film frequently pokes fun at. When the family still thinks that Hyun-seo has been killed, they all gather at a memorial. Gang-du starts crying hysterically, and then they all join in. They keen and wail and at first, and you wonder, “Are they serious?” Then, they’re all on the ground, rolling around, as news cameras come up to capture the pile of mourners. That’s the first laugh-out-loud moment in the movie, and for the rest of the film, you’re never sure what’s going to happen next.
In another scene, the family is escaping a military hospital (where they had been quarantined) to go find Hyun-seo. They all walk toward the exit, amid a throng of other patients, and at the last second, book it to the parking lot, where a chase scene right out of the Keystone Cops occurs, set to an upbeat march. They all jump in a van that is moving and then realize they are missing Nam-joo, who has always been too slow. When they reach her, she starts slowly walking to the van, and the audience, like her brothers in the film, wants to yell at her to get in the damn van.
Such moments of hilarity and absurdity somehow make the film less ridiculous. Like real life, the creepiness, horror, and tragedy are interspersed with moments of extreme comedy, corny-ness, and moments of real family love. (In one scene, Hie-bong is explaining why Gang-du falls asleep so easily and why the others should be supportive of him. When Hie-bong finishes his heartwarming speech, the camera cuts to Nam-il and Nam-joo, who have both fallen asleep.) The movie succeeds, up to the very end, in creating a group of characters anyone can relate to, characters you root for and worry about. The edge-of-your-seat, adrenaline-filled moments are heightened because of emotional investment in all of the characters. The CGI monster becomes believable and terrifying when you see the fear on Hyun-seo’s young face and the hatred that leads Gang-du to try to stop the creature at all costs. Everything in this movie, from the script to the cinematography, from the music to the acting, from the sound effects to the editing, comes together to create the weirdest scary, heartbreaking, and fun movie made in a long time.
The Host
Okay, here’s the deal: a giant mutated fish monster is terrorizing people in South Korea. It has killed and eaten dozens, but one man believes his daughter may have survived the attack. He and his family - an unemployed grad student, an old man who runs a food stand, and a bronze medal-winning archer - are the only ones who can save her.
No, really, it’s much better than it sounds.
Though monster movies are usually the worst horror fare in existence, The Host is one of the best scary movies in years. Like Scream, The Host mixes comedy and horror, a formula that can only be called genre-bending. One minute, you’re watching a creature swim toward land as the onlookers start throwing their beer and food at the creature, like they’re feeding ducks. The next minute, everyone’s running frantically to get away from the rampaging mutant.
Such juxtapositions are at the heart of the movie, and that, above anything else, is what creates an emotional investment in the Park family, the five individuals at the center of the film. Park Gang-du is the young father of Hyun-seo, a seventh grader whose mother left after her birth. Gang-du is hapless and unambitious - the first time we see of him, he’s asleep at the counter of the family’s food stand. At first, it’s not even clear that he’s Hyun-seo’s father; his childlike interactions with her could lead to any number of connections between the two. But when the monster attacks, he grabs ahold of her hand and runs frantically, trying to find a place for her to hide. When he loses her to the monster, he just stands there, watching in horror as the creature takes her away.
This begins the family’s quest to retrieve the little girl, an odyssey that endangers all their lives.
The sensitive portrayal of all the characters mixed with the ever-changing genre really makes you care what happens to these people. The wise, old patriarch of the family, Hie-bong, is in no more control of the situation than Gang-du; he makes a vow you immediately see as pointless, that he will not rest until the monster is killed. Gang-du’s brother, Nam-il, is a former grad student who can’t seem to get a job; he is alienated from his family, especially his brother, and only the threat to his niece’s life can bring him back into the fold. Nam-joo, the sister, is an accomplished archer whose “Achilles Heel” is her lack of speed. Hyun-seo is just an average middle schooler complaining about her out-dated cell phone, but when she finds herself in the monster’s lair, she becomes adult-like, an ability that probably came from dealing with her child-like father.
Each of the characters is distinct. You know these people, their weaknesses, their strengths, their relationships with each other. You know what their lives were like before the creature disturbs them, and you know that if anyone could destroy the monster, it’s not this family. And unlike most horror movies, you’re not sure any of them will survive.
The reason these characters seem so real is that sheer ridiculousness of their situation, a subject the film frequently pokes fun at. When the family still thinks that Hyun-seo has been killed, they all gather at a memorial. Gang-du starts crying hysterically, and then they all join in. They keen and wail and at first, and you wonder, “Are they serious?” Then, they’re all on the ground, rolling around, as news cameras come up to capture the pile of mourners. That’s the first laugh-out-loud moment in the movie, and for the rest of the film, you’re never sure what’s going to happen next.
In another scene, the family is escaping a military hospital (where they had been quarantined) to go find Hyun-seo. They all walk toward the exit, amid a throng of other patients, and at the last second, book it to the parking lot, where a chase scene right out of the Keystone Cops occurs, set to an upbeat march. They all jump in a van that is moving and then realize they are missing Nam-joo, who has always been too slow. When they reach her, she starts slowly walking to the van, and the audience, like her brothers in the film, wants to yell at her to get in the damn van.
Such moments of hilarity and absurdity somehow make the film less ridiculous. Like real life, the creepiness, horror, and tragedy are interspersed with moments of extreme comedy, corny-ness, and moments of real family love. (In one scene, Hie-bong is explaining why Gang-du falls asleep so easily and why the others should be supportive of him. When Hie-bong finishes his heartwarming speech, the camera cuts to Nam-il and Nam-joo, who have both fallen asleep.) The movie succeeds, up to the very end, in creating a group of characters anyone can relate to, characters you root for and worry about. The edge-of-your-seat, adrenaline-filled moments are heightened because of emotional investment in all of the characters. The CGI monster becomes believable and terrifying when you see the fear on Hyun-seo’s young face and the hatred that leads Gang-du to try to stop the creature at all costs. Everything in this movie, from the script to the cinematography, from the music to the acting, from the sound effects to the editing, comes together to create the weirdest scary, heartbreaking, and fun movie made in a long time.