Over the years there have been many a giant monster film from the latest Godzilla offering to American films such as THE RELIC, PITCH BLACK, and even the more recent TH CAVE, but there was nothing to prepare audiences for South Korea’s International hit THE HOST which has finally made its way over here.
The reason the film has captivated audiences is because the film is not just a giant monster film but it is also a film about the measures that a desperate family will go in order to save one of their own.
Writers Chul-hyun Baek and Joon-ho Bong (who also directs) has crafted a script that puts the family unit first before the impending carnage that the genetically altered aquatic creature Godzilla [PSP UMD] enacts. Bong could have easily made this film more a monster spectacle but instead decides to focus on the result that the creatures appearance has on this family and the way that this family interacts with the government who don’t know how to handle the situation.
Another good point for the film is the stunning special effects on display from Bong’s team, which are better than the average film. You can tell they took care and time when crafting those sequences.
The film is taking the world by storm as well it should because it’s the only giant monster film that’s come along in ages that doesn’t mind taking itself seriously and taking the road less traveled by.
The only fault I see with the film is the misplaced comedic elements that are peppered throughout the film that I believe occur at the most inopportune moments and in effect take away from the severity of the film itself. Now, I’ve heard that this is an issue that many critiques NOT from South Korea have with the film but after viewing the film for myself I believe that this is a cultural reference that defies our own expectations of when and where comedy should be used. The film is the biggest film in South Korean history so obviously they believe that the filmmakers got it right. I’m going to chalk my one minor complaint to the fact that it’s a cultural thing that I don’t truly grasp…yet.