In 2000 an American military doctor (Scott Wilson) orders the illegal dumping of hundreds of bottles of formaldehyde into the sewer system in Seoul, South Korea and into the Han River. Soon there are reports of a creature lurking in the river.
In 2006 Park Gang-du (Song Kang-ho) works in his father’s, Hee-bong (Byun Hee-bong) snack bar by the river. Gang-du is a little slow and is always messing up. He and his daughter Hyun-seo (Go Ah-sung) live with his father. Gang-du’s sister, Nam-joo (Bae Doona), is champion archer and his brother, Nam-il (Park Hae-il) is a college graduate and former political activist.
One day while working at the snack shake a creature comes out of the water and attacks the crowd of people by the river. In the chaos Gang-du grabs the wrong child and his daughter Hyun-seo is taken by the creature.
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In the aftermath of the attack, the American military step in and take control claiming the creature has exposed everyone to a unknown virus. While in quarantine Gang-du gets a call from Hyen-seo telling him she is still alive but trapped in the sewers. Her cell phone soon dies. No one believes Gang-du but his family so they escape and try to go looking for Hyen-seo in the sewers.
Director Bong Joon-ho has made some awesome movies over the years but his 2006 monster movie The Host is one of my favourites. The monster is amazing and the effects hold up pretty good for a non Hollywood movie.