The Host mixes bittersweet humor and horrifying monster antics in a way that would be almost unimaginable for any modern American film.
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03/08/07
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The Host (2007)
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Reviews Counted:141
Fresh:130
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.
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... [More]
Starring: Kang-ho Song, Byun Hee-bong, Bae Hae-il, Bae Doo-na
Director: Oh Bong-Joon
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Reviews for The Host
A thrilling ride and a sometimes dry, sometimes sweet comedy, but beneath all that is a humane and tragic view of life worthy of the greatest films. Even those without rubber monsters.
03/07/07
Top CriticAn absolutely corking giant monster movie, told with more panache and verve than anything since the lean and hungry glory days of Spielberg.
03/07/07
...relentlessly entertaining.
03/08/07
I have never seen anything like "The Host," a terrifying East Asian monster movie that is as funny as it is grotesque %u2014 almost a subversion of the entire genre
03/30/07
A perfect mixture of the silly and the grave.
03/12/07
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.
07/09/07
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.
01/18/08
Unlike Spielberg of late, [it doesn't] cop out
09/10/06
Because this movie was made in Korea, and not in the focus group fancying US of A, The Host tends to avoid most of the genre's obvious stumbling blocks.
03/03/07
This is not your standard monster movie and, I must admit, it caught me off guard.
03/29/07
Packed with politics, family conflict and satiric references to some of the more absurd aspects of Korean cinema, The Host never forgets to be a scary, icky, over-the-top fright fest, either.
03/09/07
The Host is a mesmerizing, occasionally gangbusters dark ride that invigorates the long dead genre's potential for scares and composite storytelling.
03/08/07
One of those rare movies that actually transcends all genres and just becomes a great movie, period.
03/09/07
Monster movies tend to be as misunderstood as their creatures, but dating back to 1931's Frankenstein, some haven't been about scaring us so much as enlightening us. The Host does this while disgorging a lizardlike carnivore.
03/09/07
Top CriticHead and shoulders above its SF/action competition.
02/27/07
exactly what our Western shores need.
03/08/07
Not a cheery movie, but it is a frequently hilarious one. The monster, as terrifying as it is, also has the timing of a crack comedian, and filmmaker Bong Joon-ho sees no contradiction in interrupting a tense chase scene for a wayward bit of comedy.
03/08/07
The Host begins with a dry, frequently absurd comic sensibility, but steadily grows darker, more intense and truly thrilling.
03/06/07
Top CriticWhat a pleasure to watch an ambitious horror film that not only frightens but also surprises and engages us completely with its artful shifting of tones.
03/09/07
Latest News for The Host
September 02, 2009:
First Look: The Host 2 
Eager for an early glimpse of one of the monsters you'll see in "The Host 2"? Twitch has what you're looking for. More...
March 18, 2009:
Bong Joon-ho Discusses Upcoming Projects
Director Bong Joon-ho isn't involved with the upcoming sequel to his hit monster movie "The Host," but he does have a number of other projects in the pipeline -- including "an... More...
November 19, 2008:
The Host Is Coming to America
According to Bong Joon-ho, director of "The Host," Universal has purchased the American rights to his film, and the studio is planning a remake for U.S. audiences. More...
June 26, 2008:
The Host 2 Filming in Early '09
Director Ning Hao will helm and script a Chinese sequel to the Korean box-office smash The Host, scheduled to film early next year. More...
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