A Fun Popcorn Creature Flick

While searching for a Saturday night film that would be fun to watch, I came across the 2006 film "The Host" on Peacock. A Korean film, you have to not mind reading subtitles. However, there are a few lines in English for those American actors that appeared. While it is a horror flick, there were some very funny scenes written into the script. You can also feel the social commentary smashing its way through the dialogue in the script. The movie also proves that Koreans can also have a dysfunctional family.

Scott Wilson, who portrayed Hershel Greene in "The Walking Dead," plays a doctor in a morgue this time. Because the bottles of formaldehyde were very dusty, the doctor orders another employee to dump the bottles down the drain even though he argues that it is against protocol. Predictably, these toxic chemicals create a deadly result in the Han River, where the drain pipes empty out. The end result is a mutant squid-like creature that lives in the river but is very agile when hanging from the Wonhyo Bridge.

Song Kang-ho is brilliant as a slacker dad who helps his father run a food stand down by the water. He even eats one of the legs from the squid he is preparing for a customer. He has an alcoholic brother who is also a political activist and a sister who is an archer competing for medals. She never gets the top medal however because of her hesitancy while trying to attempt that perfect shot. When the monster is first sighted from the shore, onlookers try hurling food and drinks at it. This only seems to enrage the monster even more.

While killing many people, the creature ends up capturing Park Hyun-seo, portrayed adorably by Go Ah-sung. With the family believing that she is dead, while mourning their loss, government officials round them up with other families and place them under quarantine. While being tested, Park Gang-Doo (Song Kang-ho) receives a phone message from his daughter that she is still alive and stuck inside a sewer. It appears that the creature stores his dead bodies there as well.

The problem is that Gang-Doo can't get anyone to listen to him. Eventually breaking out with his family, which does lead to him being recaptured, a mission ensues to find the family's youngest relative. Meanwhile, Hyun-seo protects another young boy from the monster as he is regurgitated by the creature but still alive. Without giving away the ending, the movie finishes up with a battle against the creature while protests are taking place against the government's use of Agent Yellow. In conclusion, I do recommend popping some popcorn and relaxing on a quiet rainy night and checking this film out!