"The Host" | You may never eat catfish again

Like a bat in a cave, the creature dangles from the underside of a bridge near downtown Seoul, its shape unclear and intentions unknown. With its deadly prehensile tail, it can swing like a monkey from girders and beams, swim like a shark or run on land like a sprinting amphibian. It looks like a giant tadpole crossed with a catfish, and it's hungry. Panicking South Koreans are on the menu.

Barely five minutes into "The Host," it's already clear that a classic movie monster has been superbly unleashed. Its introductory rampage on the banks of the Han River instantly qualifies as one of the best monster attack scenes ever, not as polished but just as impressive as anything in the "Jurassic Park" franchise. As creature features go, the biggest box-office hit in South Korea's history is outstanding from the get-go.

Movie review

Showtimes and trailer

"The Host," with Song Kang-ho, Ko A-sung, Bae Du-na. Directed by Bong Joon-ho, from a screenplay by Joon-ho, Hah Joon-won and Baek Chul-hyun. 119 minutes. Not rated; for mature audiences (contains violence, frightening images and language). In Korean with English subtitles. Several theaters.

It's called "The Host" because the voracious monster (designed by the wizards at New Zealand's Weta Workshop) is allegedly the host of a deadly virus, but we know from a brief prologue that this fishy mutation was caused by gallons of liquid formaldehyde, illegally drained into the Han River on the orders of a gruff commander (veteran character actor Scott Wilson, in a brief role) at a U.S. Army base. (Inspired by an actual incident that occurred in 2000, this toxic-waste angle is just one facet of the film's sociopolitical critique.)

As he did with his serial-killer mystery "Memories of Murder," director Bong Joon-ho plays ineffectual authorities (Korean and U.S. officials alike) against the immediate action of an everyday hero. Gang-du (Song Kang-ho) helps run his father's fast-food trailer on the banks of the Han, but when the monster swims off with his teenage daughter Hyeon-seo (Ko A-sung) — who later makes a cellphone call from the creature's creepy lair — it's Gang-du to the rescue, aided by his younger sister Nam-ju (Bae Du-na), whose archery skills lead to one of the movie's cleverest surprises.

At 119 minutes, "The Host" feels at least 20 minutes too long, and the story's political subtext isn't nearly as potent as the digital creature effects (created by a San Francisco facility called The Orphanage), which are outstanding in most scenes and yet curiously flawed in others. In the best of them, Bong knows just how to combine everyday realism with monstrous fantasy, perfectly executing shots and sequences that would make even Spielberg take notice.

Even when the action drags, Bong serves up some wacky family dynamics that keep "The Host" from wearing out its welcome. And since this is the kind of movie that should always end on a note of uncertainty, there's a coda to suggest that all is not well. Where there's one monster ...

Jeff Shannon: j.sh@verizon.net