THE HOST

BONG JOON-HO | SOUTH KOREA | 2006 | 119 MIN | R | KOREAN

After an American scientist orders 200 bottles of formaldehyde to be dumped into the city’s drainage system, Seoul residents begin to be terrorized by a bloodthirsty, amphibious creature lurking in the murky waters of the Han River. When his young daughter is abducted by the monster, comically inept but fiercely determined dad Gang-du (Song Kang-ho, Parasite) must find the location of its sewer lair and rescue the little girl before it’s too late. This devilishly entertaining, darkly funny thrill ride pays homage to classic monster movies while cleverly taking on contemporary ills like government corruption, environmental collapse, and the threat of pandemic.

Cast: Song Kang-ho, Ko Ah-sung, Park Hae-il, Byeon Hie-bong

“A thing of beauty. A perfect mixture of the silly and the grave” –The New Yorker

Part of the Philadelphia Film Society’s BONG JOON-HO: BEFORE PARASITE series. CLICK HERE to purchase the entire series at a discounted rate.