"The Host"
Magnolia Pictures
At the Michigan Theater

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

After complaining about spending two hours of your life reading a foreign film via subtitles, and about having to deal with the cramped, overused seating of the screening room at the Michigan Theater, you will be duly rewarded by the South Korean gem, "The Host."

Unlike the recent Hollywood surge of horror founded on gory violence for gory violence's sake (the "Saw" trilogy, "Hostel" and "Turistas"), "The Host" is reminiscent of classic horror films in which the antagonistic's daunting and ominous presence is a metaphor or a response to some social anxiety.

In "The Host," the mutant beast that plagues Seoul's Han River is a product of toxic formaldehyde being dumped down a morgue drain. The opening scene unambiguously confronts the dangers of being reckless with our environment as well as the massive amounts of waste we produce in vain.

"The Host's" horror is casual, though. Scenes of what should be gripping terror become all the more frightening because the movie's characters tend not to treat the moments with the appropriate levels of fear.

After the thirty-foot beast is first spotted dangling under a bridge, it seamlessly dives into the water. Onlookers derive pleasure and awe from tossing their food and even garbage into the water and seeing the mutant's tail dart to the surface to snatch-up the items for consumption. Within moments the onlookers are being consumed themselves.

After the beast's initial assault on the shores of the Han, Park Gang-Du, the lethargic protagonist, is isolated because the mutated beast also carries a virus that is infectious to anyone within a certain proximity.

Meanwhile, Park Hyun-Seo, Gang-Du's daughter, is sequestered into the amphibious beast's lair, deep within the sewer system, where, unbeknownst to the creature, Hyun-Seo survived being swallowed whole and the consequent regurgitation.

Calling her father on a dying cell-phone, Hyun-Seo inspires just enough motivation in Gang-Du for him to fight the suppressive government-appointed quarantine officials so he can rescue his daughter - a battle that becomes a focus in the film and creates a subplot villainizing the government as a whole.

As the film progresses, an uncharacteristic slapstick humor juxtaposes the horror so that when you do remember there is a man-eating beast on the loose, it's too late and you've already been jolted a foot out of your seat.

Soon, the mutant creature isn't the most foreboding antagonist; instead, health officials, American policy makers and eventually American troops become more daunting than the hulking monster.

"The Host" is a terrifyingly pleasant relief from the gory horror to which we've become so accustomed. It's subtly dark: The movie's comedy doesn't prevent people you care about from dying. The film is unapologetic for its brusque brutality, and the audience undoubtedly appreciates it.

As the highest grossing South Korean film ever, millions have flooded to see "The Host," and millions more should follow suit. It's a classic horror flick that reminds viewers of what they should truly fear - not the beast or the ignorant American soldiers, but rather what those terrors represent in reality.