The Host ( 2006 )

As My first post let me start by reviewing the first movie on my horror / suspense movie marathon. This movies is none other than 2006's Gwoemul or The Host for rest of us Korean illeterates ...

Let me be upfront here, I am not that much into foreign movies. Don't really know why but foreign movies never really did make it for me so much. But recently I decided to let my guard down a bit and give the Cannes favorite "The Host" a chance, and boy I am glad I did. It a monster of a fun ride ( pun intended ) !

Firstly let me dispense with the good stuff about his movie. Joon Ho-Bong in his second directorial outing presents his delicious monster fare with a quirky family which oils the wheels on this fun ride. For a synopsis of The Host go to it's imdb page. I fell in love with the quirky characters right from the start and was behind them all the way as the monster does it's public romp. The first and second part of the movie certainly deserves a 9/10 in my books. It was just great witnessing the family interaction as they turn from from victims to eventual heroes.

As far as creature effects go the creature in this movie stands out. With the Lord of the Rings creative team behind it, it look lively and blended in well. I was actually literally at the edge of my seat especially during the the up close and personal scene in the sewers.

This is a finely crafted movie with great editing which kept the suspense high during pivotal moments of the movie. Kudos to the editing team for a job well done. The editing is right up there with other American movies I have seen.

Alas, the movie falls a bit flat during the third act when it tries to get all serious with affairs and it sort of degraded into a B grade monster flick from here. Too bad because the first and second act was just superb, but I can forgive Joon for this as I just loved the first and second act. So all in all I really enjoyed this movie, and it really lived up to the hype of being Better than Jaws ! 8/10 ! Looking forward to more from Joon Ho-Bong ! Next up .... American Psycho

Low Kian Seong