The Host

The Host - Midnight - Ryerson - 9/8

The movie that has broken all sorts of box office records in South Korea. Movie is essentially a monster movie with the main protagonists consisting of a family instead of the army.

Early prologue sees the U.S. govt. dumping toxic chemicals into the Han River. Thus the creature is born. One sunny day at the park is interrupted when the creature decides to take a run through the park causing a stampede of terror. The daughter of a vendor is swept up in the monster's tail and dragged into the river. Song Kang-ho plays Gang-du, the non too bright vendor determined rescuing his daughter after a cell-phone call proves she's still alive. This is made more difficult when the government quarantines all survivors of the attack under the threat of virus contamination.

Movie was very fun with an interesting creature which we get to see early and often. The young girl, in particular, is very good, showing calm and resourcefulness in the face of danger. If only she could have been the rescuer instead of the rescuee. Movie played really well with the audience but did tend to drag in the middle section. Could play well in the States if Magnolia markets the film right.