Retro Film Review: The Host (2006)

Bong Joon-ho is, mainly thanks to his Oscar triumph with Parasite, the best known and arguably the most successful director in history of South Korean cinema. He had, however, made his mark more than a decade before with number of highly regarded films. His third feature, 2006 science fiction horror film The Host, entered history books in more ways than one – as the most expensive South Korean film at the time, than as setting the record at South Korean box office and, finally, as one of the rare South Korean films that was officially praised by the North.

The opening scene is inspired by real life scandal that occurred in South Korea few years earlier. US military pathologist (played by Scott Wilson) orders his South Korean assistant to empty hundreds of bottles containing formaldehyde into Han River. This creates an environmental incident with aftermath that would become apparent years later when citizens of Seoul face giant amphibian creature spawned by mutation. The animal sees humans sees as its favorite source of food, and among the several dozen people who end up as victims is teenage girl Park Hyun-seo (played by Ko Ah-seong). Her family is devastated, and her father Gang-du (played by Song Kang-ho) is tormented by the guilt of not being able to save her. However, Hyun-seo contacts her family via mobile phone and says that the monster has brought her to its lair in the sewers to feed on her later. Gang-du and members of his dysfunctional family set out to locate and rescue her, but they must also confront the government and its American backers who are trying to cover up the story by planting stories about a virus and releasing chemical agents in Seoul.

Similar to his earlier film Memories of Murder, Bong Joon-ho used the narrative framework of a genre film to give a political commentary. In this case, the classic horror story is intertwined with black humour and author’s condemnation of the South Korean government and its tendency to unconditionally follow US orders. Given his strong anti-American stance, which, thanks to atrocities in Iraq, corresponded with global sentiments, it is understandable that the film received praise in official statements from the North Korean government.

Even with political background being set aside, The Host functions as a very good action horror film. Bong Joon-ho has learned all the important lessons from the masters of the genre, and the most important one is that the audience must be well acquainted with the characters to be able to empathize with them. In the case of the Parks – ordinary people who are barely scraping by – this was helped by a good cast. The monster is also very well made, using CGI techniques that the creators of the original Godzilla could only dream of.

Although The Host veers into almost self-parodying pathos towards the end, it is a very high-quality and impressive film, giving another proof that Asian cinema at the start of 21st Century was on the way to surpass Hollywood even with genre films.

RATING: 8/10 (+++)

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