Film rating: 5/5
Walkouts: 1/5
Pretentious clapping at credits: 4/5
BPM sighting: Yes

Screened in Director’s Fortnight, this film is, at once, a revelation (one of the few at Cannes this year) and a reaffirmation of filmmaker Bong Joon-ho’s ability to mould humour, socio-political satire and visceral kicks.

At a US army base in Seoul, an American officer gives the order to dump litres of out-of-date formaldehyde down the sink and, consequently, out into the main river of the city. Six years later, families are enjoying a day on the banks of the River Han when something slithers from the water, causing pandemonium and snatching a high-school girl from the embankment. The US military quarantines the river environs, claiming the creature is host to a horrific virus. The girl’s family, convinced she is still alive, arm themselves and slip through the US military cordon to hunt down the creature.

A thrilling, genre-bending hybrid, Bong’s film veers between monster shocks and deadpan humour with a dose of sharpened parable thrown in for good measure. Bound for instant cult status, fans of inventive cinema should clear their calendars for this one.

Arriving 20 minutes early The Editor was shocked to find the line already stretching out of the Capitol Theatre down all the way to Collins St. Once inside the cinema Ed luckily managed to find a half-decent seat while hordes of poor suckers had to settle for front or back row posture killers. Five minutes after Ed, Bicycle Pump Man walked in, saw the scenes of carnage and, in anger and frustration, shouted “jesus christ!” It was eerily reminiscent of Begbie from Trainspotting.

This was one of the best films The Editor has ever seen. After being terribly impressed with Bong Joon-ho’s Memories Of Murder at MIFF ‘04 there was no need to even read The Host’s synopsis before booking a ticket. If you’re going to do a mutant monster flick then why take it too seriously? Bong Joon-ho’s trademark directorial style of character farce and slapstick-but-classy comedy raises this film far above any other of its (various intertwined) genre. If The Host doesn’t get a screening on SBS in the next couple of years import the DVD any way you can.