The Host (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
by Bong Joon-ho
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DVD Cover Information
Director: Bong Joon-hoBrand: MAGNOLIA HOME ENTERTAINMENT
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Korean (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); Korean (Original Language); English (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language); English (Dubbed)
Format: Anamorphic, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 120 minutes
Published: 2007-07-01
DVD Release Date: 2007-07-24
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Model: 10099
Studio: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Product features:
- 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. This special edition is loaded with bonus content. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: R Age:&nb
Movie Reviews of The Host (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
Movie Review: something in the water, something under the bridge... a fun monster movie
Summary: 5 Stars
THE HOST (original Korean title GWOEMUL) is a sneakily good film which was a hit in Cannes. Be aware that it contains an environmental message that isn't exactly subliminal and that, also, it shows the U.S. in a very dim light. Nevertheless, I easily got past all that and was soon very immersed in the movie. I really don't know how this film got past my movie radar, but thank goodness it did. I went into this not knowing much about it other than it was ostensibly a creature feature. But it's much more than that. THE HOST manages to integrate a strong family theme, an off the wall sense of fun, and an unpredictable, heartbreaking storyline which kept me on the edge of my seat. I truly did not know what would happen next, and that's a very good thing. As a bonus, this movie is also pretty funny.
Some plot SPOILERS.
It starts out in a U.S. Army Base morgue in Korea when an American lab technician has his lackey dump formaldehyde down the laboratory drains even though he knows that the toxic stuff will eventually flow into the Han River. Some years later, frequenters on the banks of the Han River witness a grotesque monstrosity shockingly emerge from the river and begin an all out rampage. Survivors of the attack are summarily rounded up by the government which, fearing a creature-initiated virus, then institutes a quarantine and hastily begins conducting tests on the parties involved.
One particularly contentious family is very much involved in the doings. Held under quarantine, they are grieving the death of a 13-year-old girl named Hyum-seo, who was seen being carried away by the monster. Her father, the dim-witted Gang-du, receives a call on a cell from someone claiming to be Hyum-seo and that she's alive but being held captive in a hole under a bridge. Gang-du and his kin break away from quarantine and flee into the sewer system and begin their search for Hyum-seo.
Meanwhile, time is running out for Hyum-seo. Lacking food and drink and imprisoned in a deep chasm, she knows that her chances are bleak as she now awaits her turn to become crunchy snacks for the creature. A further burden is laid on her shoulders when another survivor, this time a little boy, appears. At last, with hope dwindling faster and faster, she seizes one opportunity for escape.
End SPOILERS.
Absolutely, the film's star attraction is the beastie itself. But THE HOST focuses more on the quarrelling family members than on the monster, and this works to the film's advantage as we get the chance to know the characters and invest in what happens to them. The dysfunction in this family is never more strongly portrayed than in an early scene where they remain hilariously combative even as they mourn the supposed death of young Hyum-seo. Not to get all On-A-Very-Special-Blossom, but this film goes on to underline the power of kinship and how familial loyalties can overcome personal differences.
The monster is part squid, part tadpole, and part Whatdaf--k!!. The thing shows up only sporadically, which serves to heighten the suspense and enhance its effectiveness. Its debut appearance is a freakin' doozy and quite surreal, done in broad daylight with its mangling and ravaging taking place out in the open. Usually, the monster is so huge that there's a sort of disconnect, what with the size differential between monster and man rendering man insignificant and ant-tiny. But this creature is only several sizes larger than a person, and so somehow there's more punch to its attacks and we get unobstructed views of various victims getting, well, pretty effed up. The creature, when it does get screen time, gallumps prodigiously, lending a convincing weight and presence. There's a fluid grace and ease in how it navigates the various bridge undercarriages. There's a sleek dexterity in how it scales walls. Me, I'm rendered pretty darn impressed. So, a well done to the CG work.
THE HOST sows a lot of seeds: it subverts the monster horror genre and remains mostly unpredictable. Every so often it'll unleash moments of wicked slapstick humor and, later on, sober us up with scenes of poignancy. Oh, yes, it also calls out the U.S. military (Agent Yellow? I could see it). The scenes with the monster are spectacular. When watching THE HOST, prep yourself to be unsettled but then perhaps invigorated. You may even end up feeling sad. Be that as it may, THE HOST earns five formaldehyde-polluted stars from me.
Summary of The Host (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
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. This special edition is loaded with bonus content.System Requirements:Running Time: 119 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: NR UPC: 876964000994 Manufacturer No: 10099Similar DVD Movies
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