The Host (2006)
“Gwoemul”.
Action, Drama, Horror |
The Host is a South Korean monster film directed by Bong Joon-ho and starring Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Doona and Go Ah-sung. The film concerns a monster kidnapping a man’s daughter, and his attempts to rescue her. According to the director, his inspiration came from a local article about a deformed fish with an S-shaped spine caught in the Han River.
Following the success of the director’s work Memories of Murder, The Host was highly anticipated. It was released on a record number of screens in its home country on July 27, 2006. By the end of its run on November 8, 13 million tickets had been sold, making it (at the time) the highest-grossing South Korean film of all time. The film was released on a limited basis in the United States on March 9, 2007, and on DVD, Blu-ray, and HD DVD formats on July 24, 2007. It won several awards including Best Film at the Asian Film Awards and at the Blue Dragon Film Awards.
In 2000, an American military pathologist (Scott Wilson) orders his Korean assistant to dump 200 bottles of formaldehyde down a drain leading into the Han River. Over the next several years, there are sightings of a strange amphibious creature in the waterway, and the fish in the river die off.
In 2006, a slow-witted young man named Park Gang-du (Song Kang-ho) runs a small snack-bar in a park near the river with his father, Hee-bong (Byun Hee-bong). Other family members are Gang-du’s daughter, Hyun-seo (Go Ah-sung); his sister Nam-joo (Bae Doona), a national medalist archer; and his brother, Nam-il (Park Hae-il), an alcoholic college graduate and former political activist.
Director: Bong Joon Ho
Writers: Bong Joon Ho (screenplay), Won-jun Ha (screenplay) (as Jun-won Ha), Chul-hyun Baek (screenplay)
Stars: Kang-ho Song, Hee-Bong Byun, Hae-il Park, Doona Bae, Ko Asung, Dal-su Oh, Jae-eung Lee
Cast:
| Kang-ho Song | … | Park Gang-Doo |
| Hee-Bong Byun | … | Park Hie-bong (as Byun Hee-bong) |
| Hae-il Park | … | Park Nam-il |
| Doona Bae | … | Park Nam-Joo (as Bae Doo-na) |
| Ko Asung | … | Park Hyun-seo (as Ko A-sung) |
| Dal-su Oh | … | The Monster (voice) |
| Jae-eung Lee | … | Se-jin |
| Dong-ho Lee | … | Se-joo |
| Je-mun Yun | … | Homeless Man |
| David Anselmo | … | Donald (as David Joseph Anselmo) |
| Do-bin Baek | … | Fumigation truck skinny man |
| Martin Lord Cayce | … | U.S. Senator |
| Cristen Cho | ||
| Dae-Sung Choi | … | Man from duck boat |
| Doo-Yeong Choi | … | Man on blind date |
| Jae-Sup Choi | … | Detective agency Subordinate 1 |
| Su-hee Go | … | Hostage nurse |
| Seo-Yoon Gong | … | Woman with long hair |
| Philip Hersh | … | Additional Voices (voice) |
| Hyeong-Ho Jeong | … | 4th Mat 3 |
| Ha-Geon Ji | … | Camera phone man |
| In-gi Jung | … | Isolation ward doctor |
| Kang-hee Jung | … | Mr. Yoon’s employee |
| Bi-bi Kim | … | Isolation ward nurse 1 |
| Choo-wol Kim | … | Woman crying |
| Da-Yeon Kim | … | 5th Mat Woman |
| Hak-seon Kim | … | Civilian military Mr. Kim |
| Hyo-Sun Kim | … | Quarantine hospital nurse 2 |
| Jin-Sun Kim | … | Woman from couple |
| Nan-Hee Kim | … | Woman from duck boat |
| Roe-ha Kim | … | Yellow suit at funeral |
| Sang-Jo Kim | … | Old security guard |
| Bang-hyeon Kwon | … | Bride-to-be |
| Byung-gil Kwon | … | Doctor from isolation ward 1 |
| Hyeok-poong Kwon | … | Fisherman 1 |
| Paul Lazar | … | US Doctor trying to operate Gang-Du |
| Brian Lee | ||
| Dong-yong Lee | … | 4th Mat 2 |
| Eung-Jae Lee | … | Man from couple |
| Hoon-Jin Lee | … | Fat man |
| Jong-Yoon Lee | … | 4th Mat 1 |
| Seung-jin Lee | … | Girl’s father |
| Kyung Jin Min | … | Altar security |
| Hee-Ra Moon | … | Camera phone woman |
| Clinton Morgan | … | Agent Yellow |
| Jeong-gi Park | … | Fumigation truck dyed-hir man |
| Jin-woo Park | … | Isolation ward constable |
| Kyeong-Mok Park | … | Groom-to-be |
| No-shik Park | … | Inquiry officer |
| Mi-ran Ra | … | Woman stomping her feet |
| Brian Rhee | … | Young Korean Doctor (as Brian Lee) |
| Ha-Neul Seo | … | Exchanged girl |
| Seung-Ri Shin | … | Donald’s girlfriend |
| Hyeon-jong Sin | … | Mr. Yoon’s friend |
| Young-Soon Son | … | Grandmother from bus |
| Jin-ho Song | … | Doctor from isolation ward 2 |
| Kyeong-Ha Song | … | Woman on blind date |
| Scott Wilson | … | US Doctor in Morgue |
| Pil-sung Yim | … | Fat Guevara (as Pil-Sung Yim) |
| Seung-mok Yoo | … | Taxi driver |
| Je-Moon Yoon | … | Nam-il’s homeless assistant |
| Yeon-su Yu | … | District officer Mr. Jo |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia