HOME * REVIEWS * MIDTOWN * TOP 10 PROJECT ESSAYS & ARTICLES * ODDS & ENDS * LINKS * CONTACT

The Host a film by Bong Joon-ho

One might think that the grey areas of a monster movie - those which allow for actual character developement and a real story beyond "aahhhs!" and "ooohs!" and "what the fuck was that!?" - are nothing more than a pipe dream of cineastes across the globe. One might think the only redeeming factor of a monster movie is the pure unadulterated thrillride one gets whilst in the midst of said monster movie. One of course is absolutely correct. It is the thrillride which gets your heart pounding and it is the near-ludicrousness of the whole adventure that gets your spine jingling and it is the boom-boom-booming of the surround sound Dolby stereo that deafens your senses into a cinematic oblivion. Of course, aside from any of these purely sensory emotions, what The Host gives us more than anything else is an allegory for American stupidity and averice, which is clearly defined in the prelude as an American General orders a Korean lackey to upend a shitload of poison into the Han river only to see it create some sort of giant-sized slimeball-cum-leviathon years later and it is pounded even further into our brains by the ignorant "who cares, we're the fucking USofA!" attitude of later characters (one of which wants to drill a hole into a man's skull just to find out what terror this creature and his associated "virus" plan to inflict on the world. As clearly defined as the A-bomb-tested Godzilla from years past, Bong Joon-ho's mega monster is no less a fixed comeuppance (and rightly so) against American arrogance and imperialism. Not to mention (though I do) a fun, if not somewhat predictable, roller coaster of popcorn-tossing entertainment. [04/24/07]

HOME * REVIEWS * MIDTOWN * TOP 10 PROJECT * ESSAYS & ARTICLES * ODDS & ENDS * LINKS * CONTACT