Rotten Tomatoes
Submit search Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

The Host

Play trailer 2:05 Poster for The Host R 2007 1h 59m Horror Comedy Action Adventure Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
93% Tomatometer 155 Reviews 72% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
Careless American military personnel dump chemicals into South Korea's Han River. Several years later, a creature emerges from the tainted waters and sinks its ravenous jaws into local residents. When the creature abducts their daughter (Go Ah-sung), a vendor (Song Kang-ho) and his family decide that they are the only ones who can save her.
Watch on Fandango Stream Now

Where to Watch

The Host

The Host

What to Know

Critics Consensus

As populace pleasing as it is intellectually satisfying, The Host combines scares, laughs, and satire into a riveting, monster movie.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More
Liam Lacey Globe and Mail Apr 1, 2007
3.5/4
As ebullient and bizarre as a monster that can do back flips, leaving the viewer in a shock of delight. Go to Full Review Marc Savlov Austin Chronicle Mar 31, 2007
3.5/5
Comes up with not only a fistful of nervous pools of fear but also a heady wellspring of classic monster-movie matinee fun. Go to Full Review Geoff Pevere Toronto Star Mar 30, 2007
3/4
Bravely shifting tones from the horrific to the slapstick and back again, Bong Joon-ho has made a movie that's comprised almost equally of family sitcom, political indictment, high-urban paranoia and maximum-geek, monster-movie delight. Go to Full Review Joshua Polanski There Were No Gods Left May 27, 2025
The Host, in addition to being a wonderful family drama and a fun creature flick, serves as a critique of American consumerism, and in particular, the way Americans treat the world itself as a commodity. Go to Full Review Chance Solem-Pfeifer Willamette Week Jan 22, 2025
Bong plays the monster’s origin very literally…right up until he starts masterfully modulating tones. Go to Full Review Joshua Stevens Loud and Clear Reviews Jan 21, 2025
4/5
A film about protecting family and the environment as much as it is about a giant fish creature, The Host is a genre-traversing thrill ride with simple but potent messaging. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Siemen R @RT93165948 3 hrs ago The movie does nothing particularly bad; the acting is good, an interesting story, good visual effects for the time, good cinematrography and music. But it didn't do anything particularly amazing either. I wasn't that invested in the characters, and had to force myself somewhat to stay interested in the story. I liked the comedy injected now and then, but some plot points were a bit lazily executed, like how the government seemed to have no interest in actually fighting the river monster. It was the family that did the things people in power should have done. And this is an interesting theme. A critique on authorities and sympathy for the little guy. Ultimately, the whole was less than the sum of its parts. See more Ivan R @RT88443011 6 hrs ago Weird movie, but not bad. See more B P @Bradster69 6 days ago Definitely Recommend It See more Mike K @DadYouWishYouHad Sep 12, 2026 Who is giving this more than half a star? How is this 93% fresh? The dialog was terrible, the acting was awful (the dad had one expression for every emotion), the graphics were bad, and every scene was very predictable. Don't waste your time. See more Robert P @Superbad Sep 10, 2026 The Host = a *4* star movie See more Bobby E @RT23212962 Jul 25, 2026 I liked this flick . Original . Take a look at it . See more Read all reviews
The Host

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING

Cast & Crew

View All

Bong Joon Ho

Director

Song Kang-ho

Park Kang-du

Byun Hee-bong

Park Hie-bong

Park Hae-il

Park Nam-il

Bae Doo-na

Park Nam-ju

Ko A-sung

Park Hyun-seo

More Like This

View All
Fido 71% 72% Fido Watchlist Zombie Strippers 37% 30% Zombie Strippers Watchlist The Tripper 40% 33% The Tripper Watchlist Severance 66% 61% Severance Watchlist Satan's Little Helper 83% 36% Satan's Little Helper Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Related Movie News

View All
16 Awesome Horror Sidekicks: A Tribute to Our Favorite Not-So-Final Girls 50 Fresh Scary Movies and TV Shows to Watch on Netflix Lethal Weapon, Carrie, Dazed and Confused, and More Certified Fresh Movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime
View All

The Host

The Host: Trailer 1 The Host: Trailer 1 2:05 Now Playing View more videos
View All

The Host

View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Careless American military personnel dump chemicals into South Korea's Han River. Several years later, a creature emerges from the tainted waters and sinks its ravenous jaws into local residents. When the creature abducts their daughter (Go Ah-sung), a vendor (Song Kang-ho) and his family decide that they are the only ones who can save her.
Director
Bong Joon Ho
Screenwriter
Baek Cheol-hyeon, Ha Junwon
Distributor
Magnolia Films
Production Co
Nick Wechsler, Silver Reel, Chockstone Pictures
Rating
R (Language|Creature Violence)
Genre
Horror, Comedy, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Original Language
Korean
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 9, 2007, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 1, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$2.2M
Runtime
1h 59m
Sound Mix
Dolby SRD
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
Join The Newsletter Join The Newsletter Cookie Settings