IGN.com|AskMen.com|Rotten Tomatoes|GameSpy|FilePlanet|TeamXbox|CheatsCodesGuides|GameStats|Direct2Drive

RottenTomatoes.com

Register | Log In | What is RT?
It's our 10th birthday, so you get presents!
Home Movies DVD Celebrities News Critics Photos & Trailers The Vine Forums
Box Office | In Theaters | Opening | Upcoming | Best Of | Certified Fresh | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
 
MOVIES / ON DVD / THE HOST
The Host

Rate This Movie

Write a Review
See Pictures
Share This Movie
Add to List
Buy DVD
Buy Poster

Bookmark and Share

The Host (2007)

92%
94%
80%
N/A
N/A
N/A
92 %
Reviews Counted: 138 Fresh: 127  Rotten:11 Average Rating: 7.7/10
 
Consensus: As populace pleasing as it is intellectually satisfying, The Host combines scares, laughs, and satire into a riveting, monster movie.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins

Theatrical Release: Mar 9, 2007 Limited

Box Office: $2,010,000

Synopsis: The talk of the 2006 Cannes International Film Festival, THE HOST, the latest film from critically acclaimed visionary director BONG Joon-ho, has already garnered a substantial amount of international buzz. Utilizing state-of-the-art special effects courtesy of a creative... The talk of the 2006 Cannes International Film Festival, THE HOST, the latest film from critically acclaimed visionary director BONG Joon-ho, has already garnered a substantial amount of international buzz. Utilizing state-of-the-art special effects courtesy of a creative partnership between Weta Workshop (King Kong, The Lord of the Rings) and The Orphanage (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Sin City), THE HOST is equal parts creature-feature thrill ride and poignant human drama. Gang-du (SONG Kang-ho) works at a food-stand on the banks of the Han River. Dozing on the job, he is awakened by his daughter, Hyun-seo ( KO A-sung), who is angry with him for missing a teacher-parent meeting at school. As Gang-du walks out to the riverbank with a delivery, he notices that a large crowd of people has gathered, taking pictures and talking about something hanging from the Han River Bridge. The otherwise idyllic landscape turns suddenly to bedlam when a terrifying creature climbs up onto the riverbank and begins to crush and eat people. Gang-du and his daughter run for their lives but suddenly the thing grabs Hyun-seo and disappears back into the river. The government announces that the thing apparently is the Host of an unidentified virus. Having feared the worst, Gang-du receives a phone call from his daughter who is frightened, but very much alive. Gang-du makes plans to infiltrate the forbidden zone near the Han River to rescue his daughter from the clutches of the horrifying Host... --© Magnolia Pictures [More]

Genre: Foreign Films

Starring: Kang-ho Song, Byun Hee-bong, Bae Hae-il, Bae Doo-na, Ko A-sung

Director: Joon-Ho Bong
Screenwriter: Hah Joon-won, Baek Chul-hyun
Producer: Choi Yong-bae

DVD Info

Release:

Jul 24, 2007

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - Korean, English
  • Subtitles - English, Spanish - Optional

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
T-Meter Critics
 
 
Top Critics
 
 
RT Community
 
 
My Critics
 
 
My Friends
 
 
DVD
 
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
Arrange By: Name | Fresh | Rotten | Date | Source
 
 
Ratings Image
N/A

This monster movie from the Republic of Korea is one of the best films of its kind.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/14/08
Steve Biodrowski
ESplatter
Ratings Image
4/5

Minor flaws in a film destined to be embraced by genre fans worldwide.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/24/08
Geoff Berkshire
Metromix.com
Ratings Image
3.5/4

A fantastic satire/monster movie

Full Review | comment Comment
01/29/08
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
sbs.is
Ratings Image
9/10

Imagine Little Miss Sunshine and Alien mixed together and you'll have an inkling of what South Korea's The Host has in store for you.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/18/08
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org
Ratings Image
8/10

A rather tender-hearted, often sorrowful, more often hilarious view on the familial conflicts between generations and between siblings.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/27/07
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy
Ratings Image
8/10

Joon-ho Bong effectue un pied de nez pour le moins renversant à une formule attribuant ordinairement une force psychologique surhumaine à ses protagonistes

Full Review | comment Comment
09/21/07
Jean-François Vandeuren
Panorama
Ratings Image
7/10

If the slow pacing and gawky acting seem typical of low-budget monster movies, so much the better.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/14/07
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com
Ratings Image
4/5

Más que una simple película de monstruos, un raro ejemplo de entretenimiento, drama familiar, crítica política y social y humor muy, muy bizarro.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/08/07
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total
Ratings Image
2/4

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
Ratings Image
4.5/5

like a mutant hybrid spawned from the improbable union of Little Miss Sunshine and Godzilla; for in this family comedy and political satire an unnaturally evolved tadpole just happens to loom (very) large.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/09/07
Anton Bitel
Eye for Film
Ratings Image
3.5/5

The Host is a decent little monster movie that fans of the genre should enjoy.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/25/07
Stax
IGN Movies
Ratings Image
B

a terrific popcorn movie that ... contains equal parts humor, horror and drama and turns out to be a thoroughly enjoyable "creature" movie that also contains an underlying environmental message.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/07/07
Ted Murphy
Murphy's Movie Reviews
Ratings Image
4.5/5

click for full review

Full Review | comment Comment
05/03/07
Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses
Ratings Image
N/A

In spite of its assorted lumpy bits, this is a far more successful monster movie than any creature feature Hollywood has churned out in a LONG time

Full Review | comment Comment
04/24/07
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Ratings Image
N/A

Director/co-writer Bong Joon-ho has a lot of fun with the premise, infusing political commentary into the tale of a family brought together by tragedy.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/22/07
John Larsen
Light Views
Ratings Image
88/100

A self-aware throwback to the giant ants and nuclear-spawned mutant movies of the 1950s...

Full Review | comment Comment
04/20/07
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Ratings Image
3/4

Mixes the chemically enhanced intensity of a Godzilla sequel with the single-minded mission status of Harold and Kumar.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/19/07
Sean O'Connell
Charlotte Weekly
Ratings Image
3.5/5

Both fun and thought-provoking, but it's just not the instant classic it's being hailed as.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/11/07
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Ratings Image
3/4

The origin of the film's amphibious creature may be firmly planted at the doorstep of U.S. hubris, but The Host is strictly populist fare, ironically owing much to the best of American blockbusters.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/10/07
Eric Melin
Scene-Stealers.com
Ratings Image
3.5/4

It packs an emotional kick that we don't expect from a movie where a giant iguana is running around with human legs dangling out of his mouth like stray pieces of linguini.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/06/07
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
See More Topics...

Related Forums

Do not watch with the english dubs
by: richgrafx 5/20


I honestly think your challenged if you didn't like this movie...
by: Judgemark11 4/9


Do people dislike this movie due to it's anti-american sentiment?
by: TappyTibbons 3/15


If you understand Irony you will love this film
by: lavaflo 2/24


It was fantastic
by: sjrljar1 2/13
all

Pictures

all

Trailers & Clips

Don't Go Near The Water
Watch Now >>
all

News

The Host 2 Filming in Early '09
posted by June 26, 2008
Director Ning Hao will helm and script a Chinese sequel to the Korean box-office smash The Host, scheduled to film early...


First Look at The Host 2's "Multiple Monsters"
posted by Jeff Giles January 10, 2008
Work on The Host 2 is moving full steam ahead -- and a just-released concept sketch is giving fans their first idea of what...


Surprise, Surprise: Korea's Dragon Wars Makes $40M in Two Weeks
posted by Jen Yamato August 16, 2007
It's been a long time in the making, but the sci-fi fantasy Dragon Wars -- reportedly Korea's most expensive production...


Box Office Guru Wrapup: 300 Unleashes Box Office Bloodbath
posted by Gitesh Pandya March 12, 2007
The mighty Spartans won a glorious victory at North American theaters as the bloody war epic "300" exploded...

Around the Network

• The Host at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Host at IGN
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | ModCenter | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2008, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.