DVD review
Directed by: Joon-ho Bong
Starring: Song Kang-ho, Hie-bong Byeon, Hae-il Park
Release date: 5 March 2007

Four years after toxics are dumped into South Korea’s Han River, a fully grown and very hungry monster emerges from the depths to eat its way through the local population…

This Korean monster mash tells the story of a working class single father (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance’s Song Kang-ho, on excellent form) who finds himself in the middle of a national disaster when a giant, mutated parasite decides to munch its way through Seoul. When the oversized slug kidnaps his daughter, our hero focuses his attention on the daunting mission of stalking and slaying cinema’s latest Godzilla wannabe with the help of three immediate family members.

With some smart political commentary sitting alongside the inevitable sequences of hapless extras being crushed, mangled and chomped, The Host is the best creature feature since Peter Jackson’s blockbuster retelling of King Kong. Indeed, the only slight misstep is its ill-advised downbeat finale.

Blessing The Host with a two-disc edition, Optimum Entertainment gives us a number of in-depth cast and crew interviews and even chuck in an amusing gag reel for extra value. Calum Waddell

VERDICT: 9/10
This is exactly the sort of thrill-ride that you hoped War of the Worlds would be.