the host

[kid cue]

this is a new Korean film about a giant tadpole that goes around the city, killing people. apparently it was huge (the film), and also very good.

has anyone seen it / know where one can see it?

[GreenPea]

I dunno man, but you make it sound as the best movie ever.

[b.miller]

...that's because it IS the best movie ever. Well ok, maybe that's a bit much, but it is an amazingly well-done and serious movie... a complete surprise when you hear "Korean monster movie" I know, but it really really works. It's great though. It's funny, sad, thrilling... really well-done.

My original notes written the night after seeing it (MINOR SPOILERS (plot synopsis, no twists or surprises given away)):




The creature is all CG instead of man-in-suit and it's shot beautifully and the story is really that of a family trying to rescue a young daughter than any sort of global town-wrecking rampage.

The monster itself is a mutated fish-thing that lives in this river in Seoul and one day crawls up on the banks to start eating people. From there it actually becomes more about the government's response to the attack and what happens afterward. While funny, the movie is actually very sad. It's a strange line that it walks but it does it very well, alternating between the two emotions pretty rapidly... and then occasionally becoming Jaws levels of suspenseful fun whenever the monster attacks.

Actually what surprised me most is how much the movie tilts anti-bureacracy and government. The Korean govt. officials are portrayed with Kafka-esque levels of red-taped ignorance, and the American army and government are seen as downright nasty, using the event as an opportunity instead of taking care of the problem (gee, wonder where they get that). A lot of the suspense actually comes from these innocent family members as they struggle against the paralyzing web of government institution... which I didn't immediately suspect when I heard it was a Korean monster movie, ya know?