July 2, 2006

'The Host' - A new monster movie from Korea

When 'The Host' was shown recently at the Cannes Film Festival, the movie won rave reviews and received a standing ovation. After giving us an overdose of horror movies, Korea is finally diversifying to a genre which its neighbor, Japan is famous for - the monster movie. The movie is about a mutant monster that rises from the depths of the river Han to terrorize Seoul. When a young girl is taken by the creature, her family undertakes a dangerous rescue mission to find her.

This is one of the most expensive independent movies made in Korea. The director, Bong Joon-Ho estimates that about 40% of his $11 million budget went towards the design and creation of the monster.

After watching the trailer, I think the money was well spent. Even though some critics commented that the monster looks 'goofy', I think the CGI looks awesome. (You can see a glimpse of it in the poster on the right.) This is one movie that I will be eagerly waiting for.

The movie will be premiering in Korea on July 27th. I guess we probably have to wait a few more months before it comes to our cinemas.

Official Website
Theatrical Trailer (Downloadable, 9mb, Windows Media)
Theatrical Trailer (Streaming, 300k, Windows Media)
Theatrical Trailer (Streaming, 700k, Windows Media)


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