In 2000, an arrogant American pathologist named Douglas (Scott Wilson), at the Yongson Garrison military base in South Korea orders his assistant to dump hundreds of bottles of formaldehyde down a drain instead of disposing of the poison properly. The drain used leads to the Han River. Over several years the residents of the area begin to see strange looking fish in the river near Seoul.
In 2006, Park Hie-Bong (Byun Hee-Bong) is an older man who runs a snack bar in Hangang Park near the Han River. Helping him with the snack bar are his son Gang-du (Song Kang-ho) and granddaughter, Hyun-seo (Ko Ah-sung). Hie-bong has two other children, Man-il (Park Hae-il), and out-of-work college graduate, and Nam-Joo (Bae Doona), an archery competitor in the Olympics.
While working at the snack bar, Gang-du sees a black fish-like creature hanging from the underside of the Wonhyo Bridge. The creature dives into the river. It then comes on shore and begins rampaging through the groups of picnickers around the park and killing those that get too close. Gang-du grabs Hyun-seo by the hand and races away from the creature. At one point he falls releasing Hyun-seo’s hand. He then grabs what he thinks is his daughter’s hand and continues to run. When he finally looks back, he sees that it is not his daughter beside him but another girl. He then looks to see the creature grab his daughter around her waist, using its tail, and jump back into the river. The last view he has is of the creature floating down the river with his unconscious daughter firmly in its grasp.
The government swoops in and quarantines the area. The civilians are gathered up and told that they have been exposed to a virus from the monster, especially the Park family. When Gang-du receives a garbled cell call from Hyun-seo he realizes that she is still alive. She tells him she is in a big sewer near the bridge. The Park family breaks out of quarantine to try to save Hyun-seo. After battling with the monster, Hie-Bong is killed and Gang-du is recaptured by the military. Gang-du overhears an American doctor (Paul Lazar) say that there really isn’t a virus but a cover-up to hide how the creature was really created. The government decides to try to kill the creature using a biological weapon called Agent Yellow. As for Gang-du, they think that a lobotomy is in order.
“The Host” was released in 2006 and was directed by Bong Joon Ho. It is a South Korean horror movie. A sequel called “The Host 2” was announced in 2007 and a three-minute test footage video was made for one scene, however, the film itself was never done. An American version was announced in 2008, but, again, it never came to fruition, at least so far.
This is probably one of the best monster movies out there. The creature itself shows up at the beginning of the film and is seen throughout during both nighttime and daytime scenes. The whole movie is well done with lots of action and tension. The monster itself is also one of the better I’ve seen in a long time. It looks kind of like a four-legged fish-frog with really big lips. The creature, voice played by Oh Dal-Su, was nicknamed Steve Buscemi after the actor’s performance in “Fargo” 1996. In 2015 a statue of the monster was commissioned and placed along the Han River.
The dumping of the formaldehyde in the Han River at the beginning of the film is based on a real event that happened in 2000 where a civilian at the military base, Mr. McFarland, ordered the dumping of the chemical into the river. The U.S. military blocked any arrest of McFarland, so the South Korean judicial system tried the man in absentia.
Movie
Host 2 Trailer Featurette