The Host [Blu-ray]
A creature plunges from the han river bridge into the river emerging on its shores for a feeding frenzy upon onlookers. When a young girl is snatched in the melee her family set off to recover her from the monster that the government claims to be a host of an unidentified virus Studio: Magnolia Pict Hm Ent Release Date: 07/24/2007 Run time: 119 minutes Rating: R Aficionados of movie monsters will find things in The Host that they have been waiting to see all their lives: a monster lazily unfurling itself from the girders beneath a bridge, for instance, or a view from a moving elevated train that frames the monster as it gallops lustily across a park filled with scattering locals. If the realization of a creature were all this movie had going for it, director Bong Joon-ho would have enough to be proud of, but The Host offers more food for thought, and plenty of food for the monster. Bong creates both a deeply eccentric comedy about family and a cheeky gloss on political currents. The monster is created when a U.S. military doctor (Scott Wilson in an unnerving cameo) orders a South Korean soldier to discard chemicals into the Han River in Seoul. Sure enough, a toxic monster is born, as we see in an opening reel that is surely the most exhilarating monster intro in years. Our central figure–of the human variety, that is–is played by Song Kang-ho (who also starred in Bong’s Memories of Murder), as a hilariously lazy slob who must fight to discover what happened to his daughter after she was snatched up by the creature. Along the way, the film makes some pointed cracks at the ease with which governments can exploit public fear for their own purposes, and there’s some satire aimed at U.S. intervention in global affairs. The film has some serious lulls, and would have been a tighter, crazier head-rush if it were 90 minutes long instead of two hours. But in general this is a much smarter Godzilla movie than Godzilla movies ever were. –Robert Horton
User Ratings and Reviews
1 Stars Worst use of 99 cents ever
If you like bad 1980 style monster flicks, go for it. Glad I fell asleep during it. Best part was when my wife woke me up to turn it off.
4 Stars Do Not Watch the Dubbed Version
Really, do not watch the dubbed version of this movie. If you’re watching that then you are not watching the same movie. I have a feeling that nearly all of the negative reviews are due to the atrocious dubbing this film received.
If you’re not willing to watch the subtitled version, then I suggest you avoid the film, because it will be an awful experience. I just watched a clip of it on YouTube and I was cringing!
The dubbing is an insult to the original cast and crew of this film. Please. Please. Please. Do not watch the dubbed version.
2 Stars Bad, In Any Language
I gave up on this picture long before the final credits rolled. It was just simply……. terrible.
4 Stars Don’t watch the dubbed version…
I purchased this movie and I was surprised that I actually liked it, I just heard awful things about it. First I watched the movie in its original form with subtitles, I laughed and was in suspense at certain parts.. Then I decided to watch the dubbed version afterwards, it totally ruined the movie.. This movie already has a campy feel, with overacting– but when you have english dubbs with 5x more very bad overacting– it totally takes away from the movie.. So just watch the subtitle version!!! Yes the father was an annoying character, he was a slacker who only made things worse. But towards the end he finally became a man, and was trying to “save the day”, which made his character watchable.. Just rent it and judge for yourself.. But I say if you really enjoyed slither, then most likely you will enjoy this too..
1 Stars oop’s not again
THIS movie was so bad i sold my dvd for 2 bucks, and i told the buyer to burn it. It like watching a monster movie back in the 1960’s. sucks big time
Filed under: Blue Ray Movie Reviews