1.5/4  Almost put me to sleep
I was expecting so much more from this movie. I never expected it to be "Great" but I have trouble enjoying crappy B movies if they try too hard to be that. That is where this film lost me. It tried way too hard to go over-the-top and ende... (read full)

2.5/4  Beware What You Pour Down the Drain
When a carnivorous amphibean bio-freak crawls out of the Han River and snatches the daughter of a deadbeat squid-shack proprietor, hillarious dubbing ensues.

To rescue his daughter, Park must avoid the inept government officials who wa... (read full)

3/4  The Host Quick Review
Skirts the line between Godzilla & Jaws - it can be humorous and other times filled with tension. I loved the main actors - a dysfunctional family, yet very caring. Though the U.S. is made out to be an evil power, it's still a good film.

2/5 Has a good monster...and not much else
  by Ian (California, USA)
A good way to judge a movie is to watch it far away from all the hype surrounding it at the time of it's release, especially when its being called just as good as Jaws or Alien (if the hype is that big, you had BETTER be good, or you are doomed). Getting some distance away from it allows you to see the movie as it is, strengths and flaws, without the cloud of hype settling in over you. With that in mind, I sat down to watch "The Host", knowing next to nothing about it, save that lots and lots of people were hyping it as the next great monster movie. When the film faded to black and the credits began to roll, the first thing on my mind was, "That's it? This is supposed to be as good as Jaws?"

Not by a long shot. Not even close.

"The Host" tells the story of a South Korean family who are trying to rescue the youngest member of their family from a giant, mutated monster who has kidnapped and taken the girl to its lair. With the government scrambling to contain and eliminate the creature, as well as a deadly virus it's carrying, it's up to the family to save the girl themselves. In the right hands, it's a story that could have been incredibly powerful emotionally, yet falls flat on it's face, turning the film into yet another monster movie with great visual effects, but a dull plot and unlikeable characters.

The family, the focus of the film, is a group of misfits, chief among them lazy and overweight dad Gang-du, who spends most of his time yelling, "Hyun-seo!" and running around. His fellow family members poke fun at him for being an idiot, and he is. When he's infected with a virus and told not to eat anything, he goes ahead and secretly scarfs down what looks like snail guts. He breaks out of quarantine with the rest of his family, threatening to spread the infection to the entire city, threatening the lives of millions of people. And at one point, his idiocy has disastrous consequences for someone else, and that point I just lost interest in him. I don't care if his daughter is in mortal danger, this man is a complete idiot whom I wanted to die. I didn't feel any sympathy for him in the slightest. The rest of his family is a little better. His older brother, who thinks going around monster hunting as a bad idea, at least has some common sense. Gang-du's father just wants to get his granddaughter back, which I can understand. Best of all is Gang's sister, Nam-joo, a national archer who is the most likable character due to the fact that she really doesn't do anything idiotic to begin with.

The biggest flaw of the film is that it just feels very loose, and in need of tightening and focusing. The tone bounces all over the place from horror to surprise to some weird comedy moments. At times, it just seems to go on for too long and would benefit from editing and shortening the script, as well as cutting out a few characters (like the homeless boys, who's introduction into the story feels jarring and out of place). The political subplots just don't work at all...the government seems well meaning and trying to take care of things, yet the film has a grudge against the united states. Not knowing the inspiration behind the jabs at the united states, I found it even more bizarre when a government agent reveals a secret about the virus that left me scratching my head...even more so when a character undergoes completely unnecessary brain surgery that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Ditto for the scene of the armed forces having a barbecue. I think the film is trying to poke fun at bumbling governments, but I never got the feeling while watching the film.

The best thing that can be said about "The Host" is that the creature itself is very cool. The visual effects are fantastic throughout, and the monster does feel like a creature that could really happen. The filmmakers also deserve credit for having the monster appear so early and in broad daylight throughout many frequent scenes, and even more credit for making the beast look realistic. I especially liked seeing a touch of personality in it during a scene in the sewers when Hyun-seo tries to escape.

But despite the excellent visual effects, "The Host" fails to impress. I was never scared or amused when I watched the film, instead feeling only disbelief and anger at how stupid the characters were. "The Host" ultimitly ends up as yet another monster movie with great visuals but unlikable characters and a dull plot, joining countless other monster movies in the same boat. The thought of this movie joining ranks with "Jaws" and "Alien" is highly amusing...those two movies have stood the test of time because of having tight, focused stories, and memorable characters who do logical things, both good and bad, in the face of monsters. While the rubber shark and the rubber suited alien will continue to thrill and enjoy audiences for decades to come, this overgrown tadpole will best be remembered as another example of how a loose and unfocused plot with unlikable characters will kill a movie, no matter how impressive the visual effects may be.

4/5 Surprising
  by Molly A. Huff (Michigan)
I am a horror/sci-fi/thriller person and one movie that kept comign up on the list to see was The Host. I never paid any mind to it because I was never very interested in foreign films, but finally I rented it and I am so happy I did. I am sorry for those who didn't liek the movie, because I absolutly loved it. The subtly of most of the movie was what I loved best. I truly enjoyed the humor and family drama of the film. The creature was actually amazing as well. There is so much I could say about this film, but I'll keep it short: it was good and worth it and if you are a horror movie fan and have not seen this see it!

1/5 This movie sucks
  by C. Ha
I needed a filler for a buy 2 get 1 free and got this one for free. This movie sucks.

4/5 "Little Miss Sunshine" meets "Them!"
  by Alan Starr (Lawrence, MA)
I know I've mentioned this to you. "Little Miss Sunshine" meets standard horror movie (except this time it was chemicals, not an atomic explosion, that made the over-sized bug). Really fun!

1/5 not worth watching
  by Philip J. Herman (NYC area)
There is so much wrong with this movie that it is not worth watching. You will feel cheated. There are a few good-looking scenes that you can see on YouTube. The Koreans were trying to make a Hollywood-style movie; but there is no plot, no characters, and no sense at all to the story. I could go on about how ridiculous most of the scenes are, but why bother. The soundtrack is laughable; and the English-voice dubbing is awful.