English
Oscar-winning director Bong Joon Ho is marking the 20th anniversary of his landmark monster film The Host with a new 4K restoration and a limited theatrical return. The filmmaker says the 2006 film’s sharp satire of official misinformation feels more relevant today than ever before.
Theatrical Return and Special Screenings
Magnolia Pictures will bring the remastered film to theaters nationwide on November 20. Screenings on November 21 and 23 will feature an exclusive conversation between Bong and filmmaker Edgar Wright. “I can’t believe it’s been 20 years since the release of the film. Time flies,” Bong told Variety.
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The Host stars Song Kang-ho as Gang-du, a drowsy snack kiosk worker beside Seoul’s Han River. A massive creature emerges from the water, attacks crowds on the riverbank, and abducts his schoolgirl daughter Hyun-seo, played by Ko A-sung. Authorities declare the creature a carrier of an unknown virus. Gang-du later receives a phone call from Hyun-seo, terrified but alive, and resolves to enter the sealed-off zone to rescue her. Byun Hee-bong, Park Hae-il, and Bae Doo-na co-star as his family members. New Zealand’s Weta Workshop built detailed creature models, while The Orphanage handled visual effects and animation.
Satire That Still Resonates
Bong wrote The Host with the SARS outbreak in mind. A key scene, in which U.S. lawmakers admit no virus ever spread through Korea, directly satirized the misinformation surrounding the Iraq War and its false claims about weapons of mass destruction. Since then, the world has endured the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Now we’re in the thick of the Iran War and still in the midst of an ongoing war,” Bong said. “Whether it’s good history or bad history, it seems like we as a community are repeating our mistakes. Although the film has stayed the same, history is repeating itself and making the film relevant again.”
Restoring the Original Look and Sound
The restoration aimed to recreate the experience of watching a fresh 35mm print, as audiences saw at the film’s Cannes premiere in 2006. Shot on Fuji stock rather than Kodak, the film had distinctive color qualities Bong originally developed with cinematographer Kim Hyung-ku. “Ironically, we were using digital technology to enhance the film look of the movie,” he said.
Because the effects work predated 4K technology, those shots required upscaling. Bong says the team worked carefully to ensure the creature still blended convincingly with actors and surroundings. He still notices minor CGI flaws but has no desire to correct them. “The film is a record of what I was as a filmmaker at the time,” he said. “Just like we don’t edit our journals, I feel like it should just be left as it is.”
On the sound side, the creature’s voice combined processed sea lion recordings with a vocal performance from Korean actor Oh Dal-su. Bong also confirmed his upcoming slate of crime and horror films remains on track following his animated feature Ally. “I want to return home,” he said.
