Gwoemul / The Host (2006)

Gwoemul (The Host) (2006)

[South Korea/ Japan 119 min.]

Directed by Jooh-Ho Bong. Written by Chul-Hyun Baek, Joon-Ho Bong and Won-Jun Ha.

Blackly comic science-fiction horror. A giant mutated tadpole attacks Seoul citizens and carries off a young schoolgirl who must fight for survival.

"It is Lurking Behind You "

In short, a Korean Big Bad Monster movie where the beast is the result of man's folly, similar to the American 1950's radioactive threat films such as "Them!"

It revolves around three generations of the Park family who eek out a living with a food stall on the banks of Seoul's Han river. Irresponsible scientists (as usual) poison the river, creating a mutant creature that's part Alien, part fish and a rather skilled gymnast.

On the creature's first foray onto dry land it picks up young Hyun-Seo and carries her off to it's lair. Her father, grandfather, aunt and uncle set out to rescue her, hindered by the constant interference of the authorities.

As a bold outline it sounds like dozens of other post-Alien big monster movies. However, this film has picked up another of the themes of the fifties nuclear scare films - the role of those charged with protecting the public's safety and their reaction to the threat.

The Bad Guys here are the Americans. It's an American scientist who causes the poisoning of the river in the first place, it's American military clean up team who are sent in by the UN to put matters right.

It's very easy to read these as symbolistic plot devices, referencing the way that the US tends to react to any problem with military might. It's an obvious parallel with Iraq, with the monster as Saddam.

However, rather than the heavy handed polemic that such obvious symbolism could have created what we have here is a fast moving, sometimes funny, always involving film with a handful of genuine shock moments.

The brave decision to place two (very) young people at the centre of the story could have backfired badly, however the actors carry it off with some style.

A good CGI monster and that neat way that Korean directors have of twisting a genre will keep you entertained throughout. Huge fun, especially for a film with such a deep seated political message.