THE HOST

Now that The Host is finally showing here in the US, I want to chime in with added praise. Any and all US sci-fi, horror, or monster movie lovers need to catch this in theaters. This is some real filmmaking, very vibrant and alive. And some of the best monster mayhem this Monster Kid has ever had the joy and terror to witness in a cinema, instead of a little box showing the late creature feature. I'm so glad I kept myself relatively spoiler-free, never getting a real look at the main beastie before last night's late show. The long extended shot where they really show the monster the first time is a classic and a key example to show how both monsters and CGI should be cinematically approached. It freaked me out how the chaos just looked, from just enough of an obscured distance, just like somebody playing with an excited dog. I laughed, I screamed, I sat with my mouth open in awe. It'll be interesting to see how America takes the wild shifts from pathos to comedy, all acted at a Mach-3 level of performance. The closest I can compare it to is the exagerrated supporting characters of Coen Bros films given the center focus in a Cassavetes film... except with a giant man-eating monster in there too.

I wonder what Ray Harryhausen would think of this one?

All text © 2007 William D'Annucci

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