The Host (2006-Film)

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***The Host*** (Korean: 괴물; RR: '**Gwoemul'**; lit. "Monster") is a 2006 South Korean monster film directed by Bong Joon-ho and starring Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Doona and Go Ah-sung. The film concerns a monster kidnapping a man's daughter, and his attempts to rescue her. According to the director, his inspiration came from a local article about a deformed fish with an S-shaped spine caught in the Han River.

Following the success of the director's work *Memories of Murder*, *The Host* was highly anticipated. It was released on a record number of screens in its home country on July 27, 2006. By the end of its run on November 8, 13 million tickets had been sold, making it (at the time) the highest-grossing South Korean film of all time. The film was released on a limited basis in the United States on March 9, 2007, and on DVD, Blu-ray, and HD DVD formats on July 24, 2007. It won several awards including Best Film at the Asian Film Awards and at the Blue Dragon Film Awards.

## Plot.

In 2000, an American military pathologist (Scott Wilson) orders his Korean assistant to dump 200 bottles of formaldehyde down a drain leading into the Han River. Over the next several years, there are sightings of a strange amphibious creature in the waterway, and the fish in the river die off.

In 2006, a slow-witted young man named Park Gang-du (Song Kang-ho) runs a small snack-bar in a park near the river with his father, Hee-bong (Byun Hee-bong). Other family members are Gang-du's daughter, Hyun-seo (Go Ah-sung); his sister Nam-joo (Bae Doona), a national medalist archer; and his brother, Nam-il (Park Hae-il), an alcoholic college graduate and former political activist.

A huge creature (voiced by Oh Dal-su) emerges from the Han River and begins attacking people. Gang-du tries to grab his daughter from the crowd and run but sees the creature snatching Hyun-seo and diving back into the river. After a mass funeral for the victims, government representatives and the American military arrive and quarantine people who had contact with the creature, including Gang-du and his family. It is announced that the creature is the host of a deadly, unknown virus.

Gang-du receives a phone call from Hyun-seo. She explains that she is trapped in the sewers with the creature, but her phone stops working. Gang-du and his family escape the hospital and prepare supplies to look for Hyun-seo. Two homeless boys, Se-jin and Se-joo, are attacked and swallowed by the creature. It returns to its sleeping area in the sewer and regurgitates them. Only Se-Joo is alive. Hyun-seo helps Se-Joo hide in a spot the creature cannot reach.

The Parks encounter the creature and shoot at it until they run out of ammunition. Provoked, the creature kills Hee-bong. Gang-du is captured by the Army and Nam-il and Nam-joo are separated from each other. Nam-il meets an old friend (Yim Pil-sung) for help and learns that the government has placed a bounty on his family. The friend tries to capture Nam-il, but he escapes after obtaining Hyun-seo's location. Gang-du overhears an American scientist discussing that there is no virus; it is made up to distract people from the creature's origin. They decide to lobotomize Gang-du to silence him.

While the creature is sleeping, Hyun-seo makes a rope from old clothes and uses it to get out of the hole. She realizes that the creature only feigns sleep to lure her out of hiding. She and Se-joo are swallowed by the creature. Gang-du escapes by taking one of the nurses hostage. Nam-il meets a homeless man (Yoon Je-moon) who helps him. The government announces the plan to release a chemical called Agent Yellow into the river, hoping it will kill the creature. Gang-du finds the creature and sees Hyun-seo's arm hanging out of its mouth. The creature goes to the location where Agent Yellow is released and a large crowd has formed in protest. As it attacks the crowd, Agent Yellow is released, which appears to stun it. Gang-du pulls Hyun-seo out of its mouth and sees her still clutching Se-joo; she has died protecting him.

Gang-du, enraged at his daughter's death, attacks the creature, aided by Nam-il, Nam-joo, and the homeless man. They set it on fire and Gang-du impales it with a pole, finally killing it. As they mourn Hyun-seo, Gang-du revives Se-joo. Some time later, it is seen that Gang-du has adopted Se-joo. They have a meal together, ignoring a news broadcast about the aftermath of the incident.

## Rating

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