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The highest grossing film in South Korean history, The Host comes to these shores with substantial commercial, but also critical, success. It is a somewhat unusual take on the monster movie, and is South Korea's latest attempt to equal the scale of a Hollywood blockbuster. The CGI, by an American effects company, is certainly of a very high standard, making the creature itself (something like a giant mutant tadpole) quite memorable. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with much of the rest of the film. The biggest gripe I left with was that at no point did I feel that there was much suspense being built, with little sense of threat on the whole and no scary moments at all. The pace was choppy too, with some scenes going on for too long, often being played for laughs, which just didn't really come off (although humour is one of the hardest things to translate internationally). Other scenes were really downbeat, making the comedic sensibility feel out of place. The makers clearly tried to have more fleshed out characters than your typical Hollywood blockbuster, but I still didn't find them a particularly interesting bunch. Throughout the film I kept waiting for the momentum to build up, which never happened. I am a big fan of Korean filmmaking, but going on this evidence, they still haven't cracked the blockbuster.
The summary
I found The Host really disappointing, but I seem to be in the minority. At best, it is a noble attempt to make a monster movie with a difference.
