The Host

PG-13

Released Mar 29, 2013

2h 5m

Sci-Fi

Romance

Adventure

List

10%

Tomatometer

133 Reviews

50%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Earth has been colonized by the Souls, an alien race that wipes out the minds of humans and turns their bodies into hosts for interstellar travelers. Most of mankind has been eradicated, but some, like Melanie (Saoirse Ronan) and her family, have survived and are hiding. Melanie is captured by a Seeker and has a Soul named Wanderer implanted in her body, but she refuses to relinquish control. When Wanderer betrays her people to save Melanie, the Seeker sets out in relentless pursuit.

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Critics Consensus

Poorly scripted and dramatically ineffective, The Host is mostly stale and tedious, with moments of unintentional hilarity.

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Noah Berlatsky

The Atlantic

The acting, as well as Andrew Niccol's writing and direction, are all awful; I can't in good conscience recommend that anyone see this film.

Aug 28, 2019

Full Review

Kimberley Jones

Austin Chronicle

Three bodies plus four minds is some fertile arithmetic, but The Host can't be bothered with the intellectual or kinky ramifications of its setup.

Rated: 2/5

Apr 5, 2013

Full Review

Leonard Maltin

leonardmaltin.com

The only reason I had any hope was the presence of Saoirse Ronan in the leading role...

Apr 2, 2013

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Fails to adequately explore either its characters or the specifics of its concept-driven world.

Rated: 1.5/4

Sep 12, 2022

Full Review

Kip Mooney

College Movie Review

Anyone who enjoys the shallow romance of the Twilight series will absolutely love this trash.

Rated: D

Sep 18, 2021

Full Review

Sarah Brinks

Battleship Pretension

I did enjoy the film and despite its short comings in the story department I can recommend it to anyone who is willing to watch a film based on a book by the author of the Twilight Saga... you know who you are.

Mar 17, 2021

Full Review

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Eames A

My wife likes The Host therefore I like it.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/12/24

Full Review

Colin M

Intelligent advanced aliens needing human bodies to inhabit on earth do battle with humans understandably resistant to this form of takeover.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/23/24

Full Review

Tolga B

Without a doubt my favorite scifi movies. Emotional and meaningful, a fantastic tale. I think of it as the Romeo & Juliet of scifi. I am shocked at how low the Critics and Audiance scores are. If you haven't seen it yet, and you like scifi, definitely worth watching.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/22/24

Full Review

Bonobo J

I think the "top" critics are just too callused and cynical to enjoy a pleasant young adult Syfy story. The acting was solid, and I have rewatched several times and always enjoyed it...not everything needs to be aliens popping out of your guts to be "good" Syfy... just so you know "The Expanse" is one of my all time favs.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/14/24

Full Review

Joshua P

Great movie! Seen it many times!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/28/24

Full Review

Jeremy C

When my girlfriend told me about this movie I was... hesitant. But I overall enjoyed it. Meyer's is not a phenomenal writer, but a lot of the problems that plague her... other... work are absent. The romance feels more natural and the characters are more consistent and interesting. I'd probably rate it lower then 5 stars normally, but looking at its audience score I think it deserves a boost. A low B. The story isnt super inspired (It is still a teen romance novel at heart) and there are some questions that the film should have answered but failed to. But characters were overall fine, the arcs were interesting though could have been better developed and the concept was entertaining. I was actually a little sad to hear that this was supposed to be a series... but due to a lot of people boycotting it because "TWILIGHT BAD!" both were shelved. Luckily the movie really kinda stands alone anyways.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/24/24

Full Review

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Andrew Niccol

Director

Saoirse Ronan

Melanie

Jake Abel

Ian

Max Irons

Jared

Frances Fisher

Maggie

Chandler Canterbury

Jamie

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Video Interviews with The Host Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, and Jake Abel

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Synopsis

Earth has been colonized by the Souls, an alien race that wipes out the minds of humans and turns their bodies into hosts for interstellar travelers. Most of mankind has been eradicated, but some, like Melanie (Saoirse Ronan) and her family, have survived and are hiding. Melanie is captured by a Seeker and has a Soul named Wanderer implanted in her body, but she refuses to relinquish control. When Wanderer betrays her people to save Melanie, the Seeker sets out in relentless pursuit.

Director: Andrew Niccol
Producer: Nick Wechsler, Steve Schwartz, Paula Mae Schwartz, Stephenie Meyer
Screenwriter: Andrew Niccol
Distributor: Open Road
Production Co: Nick Wechsler, Fickle Fish, Chockstone Pictures
Rating: PG-13 (Violence|Some Sensuality)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Romance, Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 29, 2013, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 10, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $26.6M
Runtime: 2h 5m

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