The Host may seem familiar in the first half-hour […] but it grows beyond a single genre or traditional blockbuster entertainment by including a political editorial alongside a brisk creature feature.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Mar 8, 2024

A monster movie for those who like a little meat on the genre's bones.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Oct 26, 2021

The Host filled a crucial hole in our horror life: a big, hulking, unstoppable force that we accidentally created and can't control.

Full Review | Mar 22, 2021

This is a ton of fun and puts most Hollywood monster movies to shame

Full Review | Oct 24, 2020

"Bong Joon Ho's smash-hit monster movie The Host [proves that] he is deft at putting genre in the service of biting social commentary."

Full Review | Jan 14, 2020

Fast-paced, outrageously witty and wild, you can't go wrong this weekend if you pick the monster with the most and catch The Host.

Full Review | Nov 13, 2019

With multiple artfully constructed layers of social commentary, 'The Host' offers an incisive look into South Korea's soul.

Full Review | Aug 14, 2019

The best monster of the 21st century. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Jul 17, 2019

A smartly made, highly entertaining ride, laced with a strange poignancy that makes it an all-around wonderful movie experience.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 5, 2019

This gripping Korean thriller remains one of the most unique releases of last decade.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 21, 2018

Imagine, if you will, the great white shark from Jaws clambering out of the water and attacking people on land, and you'll have some sense of what makes Bong Joon-ho's film The Host so terrifying.

Full Review | Aug 23, 2017

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Nov 17, 2011

A livid bureaucratic satire, berserk creature feature and surprisingly somber drama, "The Host" is a convulsive, wild ride - simultaneously eliciting squirms and giggles by mashing up finger-pointing anger with "The Thing's" wiseass wickedness.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Sep 24, 2010

A pleasant reminder of the pleasures in the low-budget quickly made monster B-film of the 1950s.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Aug 10, 2010

A subversive blast

Full Review | Aug 27, 2009

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | May 13, 2009

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 20, 2008

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 18, 2008

This monster movie from the Republic of Korea is one of the best films of its kind.

Full Review | Jul 14, 2008

Minor flaws in a film destined to be embraced by genre fans worldwide.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 24, 2008