Much like Takashi Miike's ICHI THE KILLER, Joon-ho Bong's THE HOST combines varying styles into one production. However, where Miike makes his dark humor feel part of the same film, Bong never finds a proper balance between his slapstick humor, horror chills and political points. There is a good monster movie within, but the humor is awkward and the political satire fells arbitrary.
Gang-du (Song Kang-ho) works at the snack stand of his father Hie-bong (Byeon Hie-bong). He's a classic slacker, but tries to provide for his tween-aged daughter Hyun-seo (Ko Ah-sung), even if it means squirreling away loose change to buy her a new cell phone. His sister Nam-joo (Bae Du-na) is a champion archer who has a problem with delaying too long before taking her shot. His brother Nam-il (Park Hae-il) is a young businessman, but also a drunk. When American scientists force their employees to dump chemicals into the Han River, a monster rises from the waters to gobble up picnickers and kidnap Hyun-seo. In an effort to cover up the monster, the government starts a fake SARS-like disease scare, which prevents Gang-du and his family from finding his daughter.
As the monster brings more victims to his sewer-based lair, Hyun-seo tries to find a way to escape. These are the film's best moments. The tension is thick. The humor being the least successful element is mainly pratfalls. Many attempts at laughs generate more awkward looks than chuckles. The political message about governments using lies and fears to obscure their mistakes is hit or miss. When it hits a level of subversive irony, it adds nicely to the film's tension, however too often it comes off as tacked on, thus slowing down the pacing.
In the end, the film concludes on a truly unexpected note. It's a bold move, but left me feeling unsatisfied and a little depressed. Note quite a feeling I expected from a silly monster movie. If the political bureaucracy would have been developed in a more meaningful way then the down ending would have taken on a much more poignant exclamation point. As is, it's like a long drawn out joke that concludes with the teller punching you in the gut. It's a move in a new direction that isn't earned.
As a creature feature, horror fans will find entertainment in THE HOST. The less than devoted horror fan might find this Korean import too meandering. As a political statement, it's either obvious or confusing. Why is America polluting Korea? Maybe it's a cultural disconnect, or maybe it's just a cheap shot. So I recommend this flick to those who find charm in classic GODZILLA type monster fests. All others might not want to be guests of this film.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
