Let me first say that I love Godzilla and I love monster movies. The Host is a South Korean film that has received much critical acclaim for the return of the giant monster. With many comparisons to both the Godzilla movies and Jaws, to say that I was looking forward to watching this would be an understatement. Yet, when all was said and done, I was left, like the monster, a little cold. Maybe I had just bought into the hype a little too much.

The Host, with its success in Korea, and limited success in the US, has set the bar much higher for Korean cinema in terms of ticket sales and dollars earned. Korean cinema has become more popular over the past several years and will likely continue to move in that direction if The Host is any indication.

Synopsis:

Part TV family sitcom, part giant creature horror-fest, The Host tells the story of a wacky dysfunctional Korean family and their fight to survive and stick together during a giant monster attack. What begins with silly family antics straight out of The Simpsons, quickly turns to real tragedy and loss. The cast of characters is thin and built on one-note. There is the doting grandfather, the imbecilic father, the drunken brother, the semi-successful sister, and the overly-intelligent/obnoxious daughter. It is the daughter’s kidnapping by the monster that pulls the family together despite all odds to try to save her. The creature itself looks like a CGI Sid and Marty Kroft character gone wrong, but it looks decent enough considering the likely low budget. There were some genuine thrills and some downright funny moments, but as I mentioned, I was hoping for more.

Unfortunately, throughout the struggles, little redemption is found for the characters, and some don’t even make it through the day. I guess that’s my beef with this movie. Is it horror, or is it comedy? I think what often makes a good horror movie is a good dose of dark comedy, but The Host just can’t balance it. I found it jumping from one extreme to the other, disregarding the characters let alone the audience. But maybe I’m being a bit harsh. It wasn’t a bad movie per-se, and has garnered some great reviews, but it wasn’t enough for this monster movie fan.

Video:

The Host arrives on BD via a 1080p/VC-1 encode. Like the film, I had somewhat mixed feelings about the transfer. While there were a few knockout shots (see the close-up of a girl at the beach near the beginning of the movie), I just didn’t feel the transfer was consistent. While much of the film is covered with a light grain (likely intentional), it seemed this verged into a heavier grain/possibly noise (likely unintentional) in spots. The overall result was an adequate presentation that, also like the movie, didn’t thrill me.

Audio:

Maybe I’ve been bashing a bit so far, but I won’t in the audio department. The PCM 5.1 track is a killer (pun intended). Prepare to be immersed in the sound-scape. This is demo material here, and anyone who questions the validity of a lossless track vs. Dolby Digital can compare the two here and find the PCM track significantly stronger. It really packs a wallop. This is how all track should sound in horror films, crisp, clean, and powerful at just the right times. As far as the dub, yes, you can watch it in English, but no, you shouldn’t.

Special Features:

Here’s a bone to pick. Why are high-def discs often left with less special features than their SD counterparts? I’m all about using the extra space on the disc for superior audio and video, but why not, like the SD version, include a second disc of extras? Anyhoo..Here’s what we get:

• The Making of the Host
• The Creature
• The Cast
• Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel
• Commentary with director Bong Joon-Ho
• Korean Trailer

All features are presented in SD (why not include the rest of the SD features?) and are pretty self-explanatory. Worth watching are the Making of the Host and the commentary is worth the time for fans.

Final Thoughts:

Despite my review, I didn’t hate The Host, I just didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as I thought I would. That’s not to say it isn’t worth a rent, but I’d advise doing so before blindly buying (as I did). Audiophiles and fans will be more than pleased. I’ll be heading back to my newly released/remastered Gojira, thank you very much!