The Host October 19, 2007

$5 / Season $50

The Host (Gwoemul) Dir: Joon-ho Bong, S Korea, 2006,119 min, R

Seoul's River Han is the watery birthplace of a giant mutant creature determined to destroy the city and devour all of its residents. The film’s main character, Hie-bong, is a man in his late 60s who lives with his small family, owns a snack bar, and leads an ordinary life… until he finds himself intermingled with this hungry creature in a most unfortunate way--his granddaughter, Hyun-seo, is stolen away by the murky beast. The family agonizes over the loss of Hyun-seo until they receive a scratchy cell phone call from inside the creature’s lair from Hyun-seo herself. After discovering that she’s alive, the family bands together and is determined to make their way through the labyrinth to save the girl. The action is pure high camp, a mix of fear and humor that hits a few slap-sticky skids along the way. The effects are uber-cool (thanks to the team that gave us the Lord of the Rings movies), and offers an interesting mix of suspense, comedy, and political satire.

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