So, today I watched a Korean movie called “The Host “. However, the Korean name translates to “Monster”… Why the name was changed when they did the voiceovers, I couldn’t tell you. From what I can tell, it was supposed to be a horror/comedy movie, but I think I’ll file this one under “Sci Fi” because it wasn’t really good at providing horror or comedy.

“The Host” is about an incredibly dysfunctional family that gets split apart (In every sense of the term) by a giant amphibious trout that got mutated by illegal chemical dumping of formaldehyde into the Han River in the capitol of Korea - And as you may have heard, Korea’s got Seoul.

The cast consists of:
- A man who isn’t too bright and sleeps in five-minute intervals,
- A wacky, prideful father who has good stories and the kind of wisdom that comes with age,
- A snobby brother who has the book-smarts and attitude of a College Graduate in a poor country, but lacks the real wisdom of his father,
- A sister who failed in Olympic Archery, yet never fails to appear in a scene without her track uniform and compound bow,
- And a daughter who gets captured by the mutant fish.

The movie is just shy of two hours long, but seems to drag on for ages. The suspense manages to build somewhat, toward what I believe to be a good ending. It’s a blend of adrenaline, humor, and humanity that forms something that feels like it was half an hour long and got stretched out for the B-Movie Big Screen.

Scores:
Acting: 60% - Though most of this goes to the side characters, whose shrieks of impending doom far outperformed the main characters.
Plot: 80% - Since we’re calling this Sci Fi, heck, anything’s possible. At least they were consistent throughout the movie.
Graphics: 70% - The mutant was highly detailed, and the camera moved around more than in most CGI scenes. This added to the perceived realism. Plus they set the mutant fish on fire, which is always fun.

Total Score: 70% - While I hardly have a formal rating system, the movie is definitely worth the watch… Though I wouldn’t recommend paying 40 bucks for a copy of it.