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Amazon.co.uk Review
At first glance, The Host looks like any other monster movie--an amphibious creature from the depths stalks and devours an urban population--but there's actually much, much more going on beneath the surface. Not that there needs to be: although it has a fairly hefty 119-minute runtime, The Host is fast moving, with plenty of action and a truly gruesome-looking monster. Visually, it's a gorgeous movie, with stunning special effects and beautiful settings (even the rather nasty sewer scenes look perversely great). However, the real crux of The Host isn't really anything to do with the monster: at heart, this is a family drama, not a horror movie. The story focuses on one small family and how they react to the weird goings-on all around them. When the youngest member of the family, Hyun-seo, is snatched by the titular monster, the family is devastated until a call from her mobile phone gives them fresh hope. Unfortunately, everyone who came into contact with the being has been quarantined due to a virus scare, so they have to escape the Korean authorities to go on a rescue mission. Then the American army steps in, and all hell breaks loose...
It's a very original idea, with nuanced and well-written characters, plenty of humour, and a darker undercurrent of social and political commentary, topped off with a thrilling monster-killing adventure. Brilliant, in other words. --Sarah Dobbs
It's a very original idea, with nuanced and well-written characters, plenty of humour, and a darker undercurrent of social and political commentary, topped off with a thrilling monster-killing adventure. Brilliant, in other words. --Sarah Dobbs
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Far and away the best film of 2006. On the face of it your average big monster creature feature but not so. This film has everything. Action; comedy; drama; fantasy; horror; sci-fi; pathos; heroism; political comment and an examination of that trickest of life's challenges - family relationships. The characters are heroic but deeply flawed and prone to failure, in short really human.
I hate when people give the whole plot away, so I won't, but I will say take note of the opening scene it is a reconstruction of what was actually a quite horrifying true event. What Joon-ho Bong the Director does is extrapolate from that event and using an accessible entertaining film subtly comments on the real horrors that such cavalier attitudes will lead us to and no I don't mean the monster - state interference; state indifference, rumour and obfuscation; deliberate demonising everything we can see already in a world deliberately being taught to be afraid of its own shadow.
And the finale - Hollywood would never have the nerve.
Above all a cracking film - enjoy!
I hate when people give the whole plot away, so I won't, but I will say take note of the opening scene it is a reconstruction of what was actually a quite horrifying true event. What Joon-ho Bong the Director does is extrapolate from that event and using an accessible entertaining film subtly comments on the real horrors that such cavalier attitudes will lead us to and no I don't mean the monster - state interference; state indifference, rumour and obfuscation; deliberate demonising everything we can see already in a world deliberately being taught to be afraid of its own shadow.
And the finale - Hollywood would never have the nerve.
Above all a cracking film - enjoy!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I don't know why they compare The Host to Jaws and Jurassic Park on the DVD box. It really has nothing in common with those films. I liked Jaws, wasn't so keen on Jurassic Park, but I thought The Host was great. I can't think of any film that I would compare it to. It's just not like anything else.
The Host is quite a strange little film. We are shown the beast in all it's full glory at the earliest possible opportunity. This is not a criticism however, as it works. It means that the story can skip the part where they try to convince the dumb officials of the monsters existence. The monsters existence is never in question. The monster also acts quite strangely. Sometimes it spits people out again, sometimes it swallows them for good or sometimes it carries them around with it's tail. Why it does what it does is not important. It's a mutation, it's supposed to be weird.
The Host is not all about the monster. In fact you could argue that the main subject of the film is really an abduction and the way the relatives come to terms with the loss of their youngest family member. There are plenty of sad moments, especially one where they all pretend for a minute that the missing daughter is back with them and all give her some of their food. The family also argue a lot and have various issues with each other, but manage to put all that aside and focus on hunting down the monster and getting back the daughter.
It's hard to call this a serious film though as it is littered with little comedy moments and lines. For instance, when an official (who is dressed in a full chemical warfare outfit) walks in to talk to the bereaved survivors, he slips over for no apparent reason other than to stand up again and pretend that it didn't happen.
Or, there is an bit where the Grandfather is making an emotional speech to the family as they prepare to hunt the monster, but then the camera cuts to the brother and sister who have both fallen asleep.
All in all The Host is exciting and sad but also can be quite funny. Well worth a watch. You might love it!
The Host is quite a strange little film. We are shown the beast in all it's full glory at the earliest possible opportunity. This is not a criticism however, as it works. It means that the story can skip the part where they try to convince the dumb officials of the monsters existence. The monsters existence is never in question. The monster also acts quite strangely. Sometimes it spits people out again, sometimes it swallows them for good or sometimes it carries them around with it's tail. Why it does what it does is not important. It's a mutation, it's supposed to be weird.
The Host is not all about the monster. In fact you could argue that the main subject of the film is really an abduction and the way the relatives come to terms with the loss of their youngest family member. There are plenty of sad moments, especially one where they all pretend for a minute that the missing daughter is back with them and all give her some of their food. The family also argue a lot and have various issues with each other, but manage to put all that aside and focus on hunting down the monster and getting back the daughter.
It's hard to call this a serious film though as it is littered with little comedy moments and lines. For instance, when an official (who is dressed in a full chemical warfare outfit) walks in to talk to the bereaved survivors, he slips over for no apparent reason other than to stand up again and pretend that it didn't happen.
Or, there is an bit where the Grandfather is making an emotional speech to the family as they prepare to hunt the monster, but then the camera cuts to the brother and sister who have both fallen asleep.
All in all The Host is exciting and sad but also can be quite funny. Well worth a watch. You might love it!
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:HD DVD
Just wanted to leave a brief review, as I found the other review to be very harsh.
If you're a fan of Asian cinema and like monster movies, then you should love this. If you don't like reading subtitles ther'es an English Dub.
The picture and sound are a good improvement over the standard Dvd release. The picture's amazing.
There are some good extras, although not all of the extras from the 2-disc Standard Dvd are here.
If you're a fan of Asian cinema and like monster movies, then you should love this. If you don't like reading subtitles ther'es an English Dub.
The picture and sound are a good improvement over the standard Dvd release. The picture's amazing.
There are some good extras, although not all of the extras from the 2-disc Standard Dvd are here.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great world cinema horror film gem
Woah!, what a brilliant, refreshing cult gem. I missed this original release and finally got to see it (in 2012) having heard major recommendations, and was more than pleasantly... Read more
Published 3 months ago by T. BROOKES
Great price
Such a great price for a ruddy good film, I bought this for Christmas and it arrived in good time. I hope it stays at that price so I can buy one for myself
Published 4 months ago by Nen
One word to sum this film up - Meh
I brought this film after seeing the opening clip on YouTube and was really excited to see what the rest of the films turned out to be like. Read more
Published 10 months ago by JuggernaughtH
The Host without the most
This film does have some plus points even if it is ultimately nothing better than "ok".
It's heroes are fallible bordering on incompetent which renders them pleasant to... Read more
It's heroes are fallible bordering on incompetent which renders them pleasant to... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Pete
Some intelligence required
Oh dear, there are a number of people here who didn't like this film because their mind wandered, or they don't like subtitles or it's a "family drama". Read more
Published 23 months ago by M. A. Woolaway
POOR
I'm basing this review on the first 30 minutes of this film as I couldn't watch it for longer. What persuaded me to hire it were the comparisons with Tremors and Jaws - This movie... Read more
Published on 26 May 2010 by A. Hasnath
the longest one hundred fourteen minutes and fifty four seconds of my...
i really wanted to like this film.but it just wasn't meant to work
out.not only was it all over the place in terms of
tone.comedy/action/drama/adventure. Read more
out.not only was it all over the place in terms of
tone.comedy/action/drama/adventure. Read more
Published on 4 Mar 2010 by falcon
Moving, amusing and politically intriguing
This is a clever parable about American imperialism, with many other subtexts. It must be the first Korean film I've ever seen and it was great fun. Read more
Published on 12 Nov 2009 by William Cohen
What a fantastic movie!!
What a fantastic movie!!
I came across this film late one night on Channel 4, just as I was about to hit the sack. Read more
I came across this film late one night on Channel 4, just as I was about to hit the sack. Read more
Published on 1 Nov 2009 by Jayne in London
Korean Crumble
Utter waste of time - in first 20 minutes of this I had high hopes of a Cloverfield scenario which was promising in its execution. Read more
Published on 5 Sep 2009 by W. S. Barklam
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