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The Host

Play trailer 2:05 Poster for The Host R Released Mar 9, 2007 1h 59m Horror Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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93% Tomatometer 155 Reviews 72% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
Careless American military personnel dump chemicals into South Korea's Han River. Several years later, a creature emerges from the tainted waters and sinks its ravenous jaws into local residents. When the creature abducts their daughter (Go Ah-sung), a vendor (Song Kang-ho) and his family decide that they are the only ones who can save her.
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The Host

The Host

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Critics Consensus

As populace pleasing as it is intellectually satisfying, The Host combines scares, laughs, and satire into a riveting, monster movie.

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Critics Reviews

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Mark Holcomb Time Out Rated: 5/5 Nov 17, 2011 Full Review Liam Lacey Globe and Mail As ebullient and bizarre as a monster that can do back flips, leaving the viewer in a shock of delight. Rated: 3.5/4 Apr 1, 2007 Full Review Jim Emerson Chicago Sun-Times A horror thriller, a political satire, a dysfunctional family comedy, and a touching melodrama, Bong Joon-ho's The Host is also one helluva monster movie. Rated: 3.5/4 Apr 1, 2007 Full Review Chance Solem-Pfeifer Willamette Week Bong plays the monster’s origin very literally…right up until he starts masterfully modulating tones. Jan 22, 2025 Full Review Joshua Stevens Loud and Clear Reviews A film about protecting family and the environment as much as it is about a giant fish creature, The Host is a genre-traversing thrill ride with simple but potent messaging. Rated: 4/5 Jan 21, 2025 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review The Host may seem familiar in the first half-hour […] but it grows beyond a single genre or traditional blockbuster entertainment by including a political editorial alongside a brisk creature feature. Rated: 3.5/4 Mar 8, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Xiaotong Y I do wonder if American viewers really understand the satirical materials. You do know that the Koreans are the host and you Americans are the monsters, right? Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/12/25 Full Review Gustavo R Korean monster movie. A little girl gets kidnapped by a River monster. The family is determined to rescue her. Average. Tries to be funny but at the same time is cruel. No spoilers but maybe trying to be different, it ends up being cruel. Also special effects are bad 🍿🍿🍿/5 on Max Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/08/25 Full Review K Y I can see why Tarantino picked this movie in his top 20 list, and called the director Bong out for having 70’s Spielberg type genre entertainment. I never had more fun in any other monster movies than this one. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/11/25 Full Review Aaron C Decent creature feature, very underrated film Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/02/24 Full Review Juan M Clever, funny, witty and sad. A must see roller coaster master work. Bong Joon Ho is as great as a great director can be. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/30/24 Full Review J L How is this movie so underrated? Seriously this is actually the best kaiju movie outside of a franchise, maybe even better than Godzilla Minus One. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/13/24 Full Review Read all reviews
The Host

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Movie Info

Synopsis Careless American military personnel dump chemicals into South Korea's Han River. Several years later, a creature emerges from the tainted waters and sinks its ravenous jaws into local residents. When the creature abducts their daughter (Go Ah-sung), a vendor (Song Kang-ho) and his family decide that they are the only ones who can save her.
Director
Bong Joon Ho
Screenwriter
Bong Joon Ho, Baek Cheol-hyeon, Ha Junwon
Distributor
Magnolia Films
Production Co
Chockstone Pictures, Silver Reel, Nick Wechsler
Rating
R (Language|Creature Violence)
Genre
Horror, Comedy
Original Language
Korean
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 9, 2007, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 1, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$2.2M
Runtime
1h 59m
Sound Mix
Dolby SRD
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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