One of the biggest blockbusters in the history of Korean cinema, The Host may not be the most original film ever made but that doesn't mean that it isn't a whole lot of goofy, gory fun.

A nefarious laboratory run by the American military dumps a load of toxic chemicals into the Han River in South Korea, resulting in the emergence of a massive monster that starts chowing down on the locals and generally just wreaking havoc. Oddly enough, the beast steals away a young girl named Hyun-seo who he doesn't harm but who he squirrels away in the sewer. The army is called in to deal with the problem, and soon word gets out that not only is the monster a flat out nasty creature but he's also carrying a lethal virus. As such, the military is forced to quarantine any citizens who have had any contact with the monster - one of whom is the abducted girl's father, Park Gang-du.

Shortly after he's been locked up, Gang-du, with some help from a few other family members, manages to break out of the quarantine and he heads deep into the sewers to try and find his daughter. What he doesn't know is that not only is she still down there, alive, but she's found and started to care for a young boy whose own father was killed by the monster. When the military finds out that the father has escaped, the make it their priority to bring him back in... an odd choice considering that the monster is still at large, leading one to wonder if maybe there's something going on that the general population has not been made aware of...

The Host isn't reinventing the wheel - in fact, it sticks to standard monster movie conventions fairly rigidly. That said, the film does a good job establishing the characters and making us care about them enough that what happens to them at least resonates with the viewer a bit. Throw in a bit of political satire and social commentary, some surprisingly effective moments of both humor and human drama and some absolutely fantastic monster scenes and you wind up with a bit of a mish-mash, but certainly a very enjoyable one.

The opening scene sets the film up nicely. After we meet the characters briefly we're immediately beaten over the head with the monster's grand entrance. Though it initially appears to be played for laughs, we soon learn that this creature is to be feared as he sends the people lounging around the park into a massive panic. It's a scene that sticks with you for a while as it blindsides you to a certain extent, tricking you into thinking that you're going to be watching a rather satirical take on the monster movie before getting down to business and delivering a very intense creature attack. Thankfully the film is able to keep up this method of deliberately toying with audience expectations throughout, meaning that the opening salvo isn't the only memorable or remarkable moment that you'll take away with you once the end credits roll.

Performances are strong across the board (as long as you watch the film in its native Korean... the dubbed version definitely hurts things) with Ah-sung Ko, who plays Hyun-seo, stealing the show. Her emotive expressions and serious delivery really hammer home what her character is going through and for a younger actress she certainly shows a lot of genuine talent in this performance. The effects, most of which are handled by way of some effective CGI, are surprisingly realistic and don't feel nearly as cold and flat out digital as so much computer work tends to. When it moves, it looks like an amphibian, and when it attacks, it is frightening. Adding to that is that the effects team has made sure that the environment in which this creature exists reacts to his movements and his actions.

While there are a few moments that are a tad melodramatic and a couple of plot holes that could have been avoided, The Host is a slightly schizophrenic but completely enjoyable film. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll jump out of your seat - but most importantly, you'll stay entertained.

Video:

The 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen image is very nice. Color reproduction looks great and the black levels stay strong from start to finish. Flesh tones look lifelike and natural and there's no serious print damage to complain about. A bit of fine grain is present in some scenes but it's never distracting. Mpeg compression artifacts are never an issue and the slight bit of shimmering that shows up in a couple of spots is easy to overlook as it never overpowers the image. As far as detail goes, a few of the darker scenes are just a bit on the soft side but aside from that, there's plenty of clarity in the image. The Host looks great on this disc.