The Host review

Memories Of Murder give way to monsters in The Host, an offbeat creature feature from South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho. Ditching the complexities of his stunning police thriller, Bong remakes Godzilla for Korea as a CG critter emerges from Seoul’s Han River and starts munching citizens. Noodle-slurping slacker Gongdu (Song Kang-ho) is our unlikely hero, dodging callous US military scientists in an attempt to save daughter Hyungseo (Ko Ah-sung) from the beast’s slavering chops. Some stonking CGI gives the creature a glistening, gelatinous look that’s part HR Giger, part Generation X-Box. Shame Bong lessens the thrills with plodding pacing and a bold/daft decision to focus in on Gong-du’s extended family of loveable losers. Result? The Korean slapstick gets more screen time than the expected monster mash.