Al Gore isn’t the only one who wants to warn you about being nice to the environment – it seems the Koreans have a thing or two to say as well.
“The Host,” a special-effects heavy action-horror flick from Korea, is one of those rare movies that manage to be funny, touching and scary and have a meaningful message about pollution all at once.
The film centers around the aftermath of a flesh-hungry monster, mutated by chemicals poured into the Han River, that goes on a massive people-eating spree in Seoul, Korea. After the creature abducts Hyun-seo, daughter of Gang-Du, a lazy ramen vendor, Gang-Du and his family must pursue the beast in an attempt to get Gang-Du’s daughter back.
There is no shortage of action sequences in “The Host,” since every time the monster emerges from the water, it goes on an action-packed chase along the waterfront, looking for folks to feast on. Part of the film’s humor stems from these chases as well. There are a few funny moments scattered among the chaos, such as a chase involving an unfortunate fat man and an unsuspecting woman listening to classical music who is dragged along the ground by her headphones.
Most of the humor, though, comes from the interactions of Gang-Du and his family. A scene involving the mourning of Hyun-seo’s supposed death quickly devolves into a family brawl worthy of “The Jerry Springer Show.” One can’t help but laugh as the drunken brother kicks futilely at Gang-Du while calling him childish names.
Despite all the comedic bits, the suspenseful moments are just as well done. Hyun-seo, amazingly, is left alive in the monster’s den deep within Seoul’s sewer system, and when the creature returns from its hunts, she must pretend to be dead. Suspense ensues as the beast sticks around, sniffing and licking to make sure all its prey are indeed dead.
All the humor and terror is not without a point. The mutation of the monster and the treatment of the problem by the government with even more harmful chemicals, aims to warn people about the dangers of carelessly using so many chemicals without a regard for nature. It may not be as dire of a message as global warming, but the message still rings clear in today’s society.
Thankfully, the translation of dialogue is surprisingly good for a low-profile imported movie, which makes it easier to take the movie seriously. The writing itself is decent, so the plot remains clear and straightforward for the most part.
The only downside to the film is that the CGI animation of the river monster is fairly clumsy at times, especially when fake fire is involved, and the monster’s movement is sometimes jerky and stiff, which can be expected with fake creatures. Also, anyone opposed to reading subtitles may not enjoy spending two hours reading the film’s dialogue instead of listening to it.
Nonetheless, “The Host” serves as a successful example of a movie that can blend genres together to seamlessly create an exciting, scary movie that can also be funny and carry a relevant message about pollution.
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The Host

Director: Joon-Ho Bong
Rating: R for “creature violence and language”
Theaters: Bijou Cinemas, 7:00 and 9:25 p.m. nightly and Sunday matinee at 2:20 p.m.
Pros: It has a good blend of comedy, action and suspense
Cons: It’s subtitled and the CGI animation isn’t as good as it could be.