

The Host
Man has made his newest predator.
A teenage girl is captured by a giant mutated squid-like creature that appears from Seoul's Han River after toxic waste was dumped in it, prompting her family into a frantic search for her.
TMDB
7.0/10
3,279 votes
IMDb
Not rated yet
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $11M
- Box office
- $88.5M
- Language
- English
- daughter
- pollution
- monster
- river
- bravery
- sewerage
- formaldehyde
- snack bar
- archer
- family
- asian origins
- seoul, south korea
Top billed cast
















Behind the camera
Director
Music
Produced in
South Korea
Where to watch
All optionsAvailability for United States. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
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Rent
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Videos
Release dates
United StatesUS
- PremiereRNew York Film Festival29 Sept 2006
- Theatrical (limited)R9 Mar 2007
- TheatricalR30 Mar 2007
United KingdomGB
- Theatrical1510 Nov 2006
- Physical15Blu-ray / DVD19 Nov 2007
- TVFilm414 Oct 2008
- Physical15Bong Joon Ho Collection (Blu-ray)19 Apr 2021
AustraliaAU
- PremiereMMelbourne International Film Festival8 Aug 2006
CanadaCA
- PremiereToronto International Film Festival8 Sept 2006
- PhysicalRDVD24 Jul 2007
BelgiumBE
- Theatrical2 May 2007
BrazilBR
- Theatrical1418 May 2007
EstoniaEE
- PremiereTallinn Black Nights Film Festival3 Dec 2006
FinlandFI
- Theatrical (limited)K-1627 Jul 2006
FranceFR
- PremiereCannes Film Festival21 May 2006
- PremiereArras Film Festival11 Nov 2006
- TheatricalTP22 Nov 2006
- TV12Canal+29 Feb 2008
- TV12Arte28 Jun 2010
- TheatricalTP4K Restored Version (The Jokers)8 Mar 2023
- TVTPFrance 415 Oct 2026
GermanyDE
- Theatrical1629 Mar 2007
- TV12ProSieben1 May 2009
Hong KongHK
- Theatrical14 Sept 2006
HungaryHU
- PremiereTitanic International Filmpresence Festival20 Apr 2007
Frequently asked questions
The Host was released on 27 July 2006.
Audience reviews
4- P6/10
Peter McGinn
12/13/2021
This is a monster horror movie that really tries, to the point where they don’t give a clear view of the creature in the previews, presumably not to ruin the initial shock moment for the viewer. It is in Korean with English subtitles, with a few bursts of English with Korean subtitles when the speaker is American. The movie focuses on one family’s ongoing battle: not merely against the monster but also struggling …
- T8/10
tmdb45300742
6/18/2024
These sites all missed the point. It's farce, it's funny. I actually liked the creature! He's kinda gruesomely-cute! Don't expect drama. It's all tongue-in-cheek, reminiscent of the old Godzilla creature films.
- B8/10
badelf
7/8/2026
Summary: 8/10: inventive, genre-defying filmmaking that uses monster movie conventions to deliver sharp political critique and genuine emotional resonance. A U.S. Army coroner orders an underling to dump many toxic chemicals into the Han River. Six years later, a monster crawls out and starts destroying people. If this were an ancient folktale, or even a Bong Joon-ho film (which, of course, it is), the monster wou…
- B10/10
Bronwynn-22
10/9/2026
Absolutely love this Bong Joon-ho movie. The family of misfits coming together to save their youngest while the country around them devolves into chaos is so fun. It's silly when it wants to be, tense when it needs to be, and emotional when you're not expecting it.
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