{"id":1484,"date":"2008-11-25T06:12:20","date_gmt":"2008-11-24T20:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/?p=1484"},"modified":"2008-11-28T08:10:16","modified_gmt":"2008-11-27T22:10:16","slug":"a-good-american-host","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/index.php\/2008\/11\/25\/a-good-american-host\/","title":{"rendered":"A Good American Host?"},"content":{"rendered":"

So the news is confirmed that Gore Verbinski will be producing an American remake of the South Korean monster film, Gwoemul<\/strong> [aka The Host<\/em>] (2006; dir. Joon-ho Bong) for Universal pictures. It will be a debut feature for director Fredrick Bond.<\/p>\n

The original film was a record-breaking success in South Korea and across Asia, so probably a Westernised remake was always inevitable, things being as they are in Hollywood.<\/p>\n

The story concerns of giant tadpole thing that rises from the Han River in the middle of Seoul, mutated by toxic chemicals carelessly flung into its waters by unethical military scientists. The monster snatches up the younger daughter of a rather dysfunctional working-class Korean family, the members of which must overcome their maladjustments to rescue her. It was both funny and poignant, with some of the most original and convincing monster action we’d seen for a while. Many people rate it as one of the best monster pics ever.<\/p>\n

\"Host<\/a><\/p>\n

In regards to a US remake, Bond commented that he “embraced the opportunity to mix a larger-than-life monster with a heartfelt family drama.” (Variety<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Well, I hope it works. Certainly producer Verbinski has a way with big monsters, at least in the context of his box-office smash Pirates of the Caribbean<\/em> movies (click on image to see the giant Kraken’s “jaws” more clearly):<\/p>\n

\"Host<\/a><\/p>\n

The trouble is, Verbinski isn’t the director or the writer of The Host<\/em> remake. Still, hopefully he’ll keep an eye on things while he’s off directing his video game adaptation Bioshock<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Naturally, the mere act of remaking what most see as a unique and worthy monster film has been greeted with some skepticism. The Backbrain has a definite opinion, but in the interests of fairness and balance, I asked Kaiju Search-Robot Avery to give his eternally optimistic perception on the issue as well.<\/p>\n

Rob’s take:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I confess I’m a bit underwhelmed about prospects for a The Host<\/em> remake. To me, everything that was good about the original (except the SFX) was quintessentially Korean, stuff that will have to go in a US remake. As I’ve said elsewhere, to me remaking the film seems pointless, as “the visual style, the political irony and culturally specific characterisation that makes The Host<\/em> so unique will all need to be abandoned.” And what that leaves is a totally generic monster movie. Maybe they’ll make a good one, but it won’t be The Host<\/em> and they might as well have called it “Attack of the Giant River Tadpole” or something and have done with it. Surely this will be another example of grabbing an easy audience by “remaking” a successful Asian film, abandoning its heart and soul in the process. I guess I’m happy that we’ll be getting a new biggish-budget monster flick, but do we have to trash a world “classic” to get it? Can’t we encourage Western audiences to be a little more cosmopolitan?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Avery’s take:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I keep hearing fans getting upset about the idea of a remake of the film, but I can definitely see some good in the idea of a remake. For one, Gore Verbinski is a rather impressive name to be involved. Also, this is a first-time director helming the project. We shouldn’t be quick to judge what this film will be like without knowing what this director can do. If you’ll all remember, Cloverfield<\/em> was directed by an unknown, Matt Reeves, and produced by a well-known big wig as well, J.J. Abrams, and look at what they were able to achieve. Why wouldn’t the creators and owners of the copyright want to make a “mainstream” version of the film to appeal to a considerably much wider potential audience than a subtitled version ever would? The general public tend to stay away from subtitled and foreign films and limited release titles. Making an American version could bring in a whole new legion of fans and if done right could still win over the original fanbase. Sure, the downside is that it would most likely lose the wacky Korean humor, but to some that would be a plus. I’ve also heard several say that they weren’t fans of the original, stating that they felt it was too flawed, but that they welcome this version. Well, this new take on the story could actually win them over. Also, why wouldn’t we want more potential fans to be introduced to this film and our beloved genre? It’s definitely a smart business move for sure.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n