BITE-SIZED: The Host (Bong Joon-Ho, 2006)

After the American military dumps chemicals into the Han River, a monster is born which grows to the size of a truck and proceeds to make attacks on Seoul. 

On one of these sorties, it kidnaps schoolgirl Hyun-seo (Go Ah-sung). 

As the military moves in to contain the situation, the girl's family come together to try and save her...

Created by Bong Joon-Ho (Memories of Murder, Snowpiercer), The Host is one of the best monster/family drama/black comedies ever made.

This movie is great: It starts like a traditional monster movie, showing us the creature's origin and early appearances, climaxing with its first attack on people.

The initial attack sequence is fantastically visceral. The creative choices made with the creature work for the film's eye-level view of the genre: the monster is about the size of a large car or truck, and instead of an alien monstrosity, it looks like what it is, a mutated version of something earthbound. While it is big and strong, it is also clumsy and lumbering on land, as a water-based creature would be.

During this attack we are introduced to our hero, Gang-du (Song Kang-ho), a clumsy schlub who is ignored or belittled by society.

When the creature kidnaps his daughter, it is a catalyst for him to finally prove his mettle.

But this is where the movie goes to another level. 

Fearing Hyun-seo's death, the family comes together to grieve.

This family are all screw-ups in all their own ways - their reunion at the memorial to the dead is blackly funny, as their shared grieving turns into a childish wrestling match on the ground.

Rather than being a monster movie, The Host turns into a kitchen sink dramedy, as our misfit band figure out their issues while trying to find Hyun-seo.

The film balances these tonal shifts without losing sight of the stakes (with cutaways to Go Ah-Sung in the sewer), or making fun of the family - the film has the empathy to show these characters and their relationships in all their nuance and contradiction.

The film even finds a way to bring its critique of US militarism full circle, when the American military  become an active impediment to the family's search. 

As the family's hunt escalates, the film avoids betraying its eye-level approach to its genre - our heroes do not turn into instant action heroes, and the set pieces do not get so over-the-top that they do not lose a sense of scale or danger.

And as with every narrative turn in the film, its finale is an emotional gut punch. 

A great genre mashup, The Host is worth watching over and over again.