The Host

Great idea. This politically and socially inspired film makes you wonder if the antagonist is the monster you see consuming people, or the government monster you see consuming people. Actually, it's both.

This is a Korean-born film, but the relation to all governmental/agency performance is ubiquitous. A monster develops in a local river due to chemical dumping. Once it reaches formidable size (i.e. gets huge), it leaves its sewer home to feed on humans, thus abducting the protagonist's younger sister. The government steps in to perform its usual barrage of impotent tests, all the while treating citizens as if they were the monsters. It was a wonderful and well-executed story in that respect.

The characters, however, may seem cookie-cutter. This, I believe, is simply the method the writer/director uses to present representations of the typical members of society. In any case, all the performers gave at least acceptable performances, playing well to the theme's tragic humor. Again, as is found in many eastern productions, too many characters' stories were followed individually, so the audience will be challenged to align with any one character. It simply detracts from the development of a hero with whom you can identify and for whom you can cheer. It also lengthens the story, where breaks in pace may throw the audience's attention. But the parallels to actual events stand as the redeeming grace for the movie as a whole. Plus, the monster is awesome, and I found myself routing for it in many instances.

Overall, a 7.5 outta 10. Those who like monster-horrors and political satire (isn't that really one of the top reasons we love the horror genre?) will love it as much as those who appreciate the frustrations of tragic irony. I especially recommend it for conversation pieces with youth regarding politics and/or egocentrism.