After a few confused moments, the object unfurls itself and plunges into the murky depths of the polluted river.  Some startled, some intrigued, the crowd begins to throw cans and food into the river to lure the odd creature.  However, as the dark mass swims toward the gathered crowd, the enormity of it becomes all too apparent.  And when it leaps from the water, one of the craziest and most realistic CGI creatures ever captured on film begins to terrorize the masses in ways reminiscent of King Kong rampaging through New York City.

The initial twenty minutes of this insane film is a virtuoso special effects extravaganza that will have you jumping out of your seat... hiding your eyes... laughing your ass off... and wide eyed in awe.  It is truly brilliant stuff.

The family who runs the snack stand comprises a wacky old grandfather, a lazy loser son, a daughter who is a world-class archery competitor, another son who drinks too much, and a charming young 13 year-old schoolgirl, daughter to the lazy loser.

In the crazy melee that ensues when the creature emerges from the river, the young girl's father loses track of her and she becomes one of the creatures first victims.  She is grasped by one of the many tentacles on the giant half fish, half lizard thingy.  The creature swallows the victims whole.

However, what the people are not aware of is that the creature regurgitates its victims into a sewer for later consumption... and some of them survive the ordeal.  The young girl is one of the lucky survivors and she has the wherewithal to search the other bodies for working cell-phones.  She desperately contacts her loser father.

The father must then circumvent the authorities to find the creature's hidden lair and he enlists the help of his wacky family.  The film then becomes a three-way hunt.  The family is hunting for the girl. The authorities are hunting for the family, who they believe are contaminated by a virus.  And the creature is always on the hunt for more food.

Occasionally, the film gets a little silly, sometimes going for a laugh to break the tension.  The effects are generally superb, except for a fire sequence toward the end.  The moody cinematography and ambitious camera work are both impressive.  And the scares are genuinely terrifying.

I really enjoyed this film... It is about as good as a monster film could ever really be.  After all, they are, by their very nature, tremendously silly.  But I can't fault "The Host"... it is typically Korean -- dynamic and over-the-top.  It is tons of fun and full of scares.  It is a wild ride.