New Releases: The Host

Title: The Host

Original Korean Title: Gwoemul

Genre: Action / Comedy / Drama / Fantasy / Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller

Plot Outline: The film revolves around Park Hee-bong (played by Byun Hee-bong), a man in his late 60s. Park runs a small snack bar on the banks of the Seoul's Han River and lives with his two sons, one daughter and one granddaughter. The Parks seem to lead a quite ordinary and peaceful life, or maybe a tad bit poorer than the average Seoulite. Hee-bong's elder son Gang-du (by Song Gang-ho) is an immature and incompetent man in his 40s, whose wife left home long ago. Nam-il (by Park Hae-il) is the youngest son, an unemployed grumbler, and daughter Nam-joo (by Bae Du-na) is an archery medalist and member of the national team. One day, an unidentified mutant suddenly appears from the depths of the Han River and spreads panic and death, and Gang-du's daughter Hyun-seo is carried off by the monster and disappears. All the family members are in a great agony as they have lost someone dearest to them. But as they find out she is still alive, they resolve to save her.

I don't watch too much asian cinema, but I couldn't resist watching this one after I heard about its box office success in Korea. It is supposedly the highest grossing movie of all time over there. Not to mention all the good reviews and pretty high rating over at imdb, especially for a horror/comedy movie. I'm really glad I did watch this, I was surprised at the quality of animation. The mutant monster looks very convincing and the scenes where it's running through the streets look equally realistic. Interesting note over at imdb is that the beginning of this movie is based on a true story, here's the link if you're interested. This movie is also scheduled for a limited theater release in the US in March. Why wait? Download it today!