Stephanie Meyer's blockbuster Twilight series, while a definite featherweight (or sparkle-weight?) of the vampire genre, at least has the redeeming factor of looking pretty and having likeable, if over-angsty (have I invented a word?) characters. The Host doesn't even have this going for it. Frankly, there is little to grab on to if you're seeking character involvement - at least not at the start. About 15 minutes in I was asking myself - who am I supposed to like here? Not a single character to that point had elicited any sympathy.
Not that the basic premise is bad; in fact, it's a classic in may ways. Aliens taking over humans under the guise of making our lives better, but destroying what makes us human in the process, has been a theme from the earliest days of sci fi. An individual's fight to maintain their own identity under pressure to conform is common to almost every genre of film and literature. The question of how far a Resistance movement can go before it becomes as brutal as its oppressors is theme fraught with historical and modern relevance.
So why is 'The Host' so unrelentingly dreadful?
Firstly, the writing. It's painfully thin, predictable and, worst of all, unintentionally funny. Really, the audience should not be giggling at the romantic scenes! Or groaning. Or wishing they were at home watching reruns of the Big Bang Theory. I haven't read any of Myers' novels but the impression is that she's no Anne Rice and this borne out in spades in the scripting of the movie.
Secondly, the interplay in almost every so-called 'romantic' scene seemed to be as uncomfortable for the actors to play as it was for the audience to view. Trite, predictable, awkward, painful to watch. The Twilightesque threesome-plus-one just didn't flow.
Thirdly, THOSE SHOES! What's with that? Did the costume department intentionally go out of their way to locate the most hideously unattractive and obviously uncomfortable women's shoes they could find? Good grief! Grumbling and titters from the audience displayed how distracting it was to watch the actresses tottering about on boots that looked like ill-fitted Chinese knock-offs of the ugliest possible designs they could find.
If I didn't expect a lot from this film, then I wasn't disappointed! However, it's still a mystery how accomplished writer/director Andrew Niccol didn't manage to wrest a better screenplay and performances out of this story. Given that he has some experience with the idea of an individual having to pretend to fit in with a near-futuristic highly-regulated society with which they are fundamentally at odds (Gattaca) and the resulting need to be free to express ones real self (Truman Show), the shortcomings of this effort is baffling. And by the way, if the aliens can be knocked out with a single punch from a teenage boy then how the hell did Mankind manage to lose the earth in the first place! Come on people - really?
So, is there anything at all to be said on the positive side? Well, the movie was free. That's a positive, isn't it? Thanks to Mary from QUEST (Queensland Star Trekkers Fan Club), along with Hoyts Distribution and Think Tank, I won a free double pass to the movie preview at Hoyts which I shared with my good friend, Tracy. Although the film was a bit of a dud, we did catch up with several other friends from local sci fi club Conquest, including Peter, Rob, Missy and others.
The unremittingly wooden acting throughout the first part of The Host by both the alien-infested human hosts (somewhat understandable given the circumstances) and the free humans (unforgivable under any circumstance) was relieved somewhat when the action moved to the hidden base of the Resistance where we are treated - finally - to some actual acting by more experienced actors who are able to relate some real expression and passion. William Hurt, Juilliard-trained and Academy Award nominated, is as a reliable choice as you could ask for in the role of the gruff but fair resistance leader-cum-mountain man who says little, sees a lot, and suffers no fools. Scott Lawrence (Sons of Anarchy) and Frances Fisher (Eureka, The Shield) are two faces which most TV watchers and movie-goers will recognise, even if the names aren't immediately recognisable.
Some of the props and locations were interesting, and the special effects for the aliens, while nothing we haven't seen before, were servicible. The Resistance efforts to farm inside their mountain retreat, with their fields of grain lit by tiers of mirrors, was effective in conveying the ingenuity and tenacity of the human spirit. The minimalist surroundings of the aliens' communistic lives makes you wonder why they bother inhabiting other species if they fail to take the opportunity to experience the variety of lifestyles, arts, and other creations of their adopted societies. What they choose to retain of human life is bland, utilitarian, and spare. Everyone dresses basically the same. There is one type of car. Furniture is kept to the bare essentials. The doctor's medical tools are uniform spray dispensers, looking like upmarket perfume bottles, and unimaginatively labelled as 'Cool', 'Heal', and 'No Pain', while the grocery stores are undecorated warehouses with black and yellow tins (like IGA!) simply marked with the contents such as 'Corn'. Everything is free, so no advertising necessary! And I loved the zippy little chrome cars!
In the end, we see that it's the worst of us that saves us and the best of us that brings us together. Just as in 'War of the Worlds' where it's our diseases that destroy the invaders, in The Host it is our anger, jealousy, and desire to be in control that infects and transforms the peace-loving aliens and begins their downfall. I did like the old guy who kept his vintage car and appreciated its differences. We strive to be individuals, even with an alien in the driver's seat, so to speak! Ultimately, it's love that starts the process of integrating the two species. Heart-warming, innit? Unfortunately, the final scene left things open for a sequel.
The movie's tag-line is "What if everything you love was taken from you in the blink of an eye?" If only the movie had been that short! Only the prospect of drawing dollars from the pockets of the Meyers fan-base could have stopped this film going directly to DVD, and apparently, even they seem to be staying away in droves.
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