There is a monster in the Han River near Seoul, South Korea, and the people best equipped to fight it is not the army, but a “Little Miss Sunshine-esque” dysfunctional family.

“The Host” begins in the Yongsan U.S. Army base morgue when a commanding American officer orders his Korean worker to dump old formaldehyde down the drain regardless that the chemicals would end up in the river. The result of the dumping is an extremely large, hard to kill, agile, man-eating, sewer-dwelling monster that terrorizes people relaxing by the river.

The Park family runs a small convenience stand at the bank of the river. It is obvious that the family does not know how to work together. Park Hee-Bong’s two sons are slow-witted Kang-Du and unemployed alcoholic college graduates Nam-Il. “The Host” reflects “The Simpsons” in that the women of the family are the bright ones. The sister Nam-Joo is an archery champion and slow Kang-Du’s daughter, Hyun-Seo is a cute schoolgirl who is the pride of the family. When the monster attacks the bank of the river, the scatter chase scene is one of the best in a long time. Kang-Du bravely attempts to fight the beast only to have it snatch his daughter away and drag her into the river. The Korean government and U.S. Army describe the phenomenon as an outbreak of an “Asian flu” virus and quarantine the entire family, as well as everyone else on the bank of the river. When the Park family finds out that little Hyun-Seo is alive they work together to escape the hospital and find the girl.

To accompany the action of the film, Magnolia Pictures and director, Bong Joo-Ho, add drama by showing the danger that Hyun-Seo is in. Her prison is a deep sewer and the only other inmates are the bones and bodies of the monsters victims. Her survival lies in the hands of her family, who work together and alone at times, to save her.

Exciting chase scenes, government conspiracies, dramatic losses, comedic relief and wonderful special effects all culminate into an outstanding climax that rivals the great monster movies of the past. After seeing this movie I have to ask the question, who would win in a fight? The monster in “Alien” or the monster of “The Host?”

Have a good time this weekend, drink some Soju, and enjoy the movie.

Brandon Van Meter can be reached at [email protected]