The Host (괴물)

Of course there's a plot in The Host: a not-so-savvy father joins several other family members in search for the monster that has emerged from the sea and dragged his little daughter to its unknown hiding place. The strength of the film, however, lies in the sheer cinematic imagination with which Bong Joon-ho spins variations on the obligatory tropes of the monster movie. Masterfully, the filmmaker pushes the terror to the limit and manages to dose the black, socially critical humour in such a way that the funniness does not undermine the seriousness of the situations. Like virtually all monster movies since the 1950s, the evil is man-made: years of pollution in the Han River gave birth to the monster. Unlike in the Hollywood monster movie, the heroes are not that great, and the Korean and American authorities pose almost a greater threat than the creature itself.

"On almost every level, there's never quite been a monster movie like The Host. Egregiously subverting its own genre while still delivering shocks at a pure genre level, and marbled with straight-faced character humor that constantly throws the viewer of balance." - Variety