The Host director Joon-ho Bong
by Daniel Robert Epstein for SuicideGirls (http://suicidegirls.com/)

Many critics and fans are calling the Korean horror movie, The Host, the greatest monster movie ever made. That’s not just hyperbole, The Host is fast, fun but still manages to sneak in some very astute social commentary on the side of both the Korean and US governments. The plot is simple, a creature was created due to a US military pathologist [played by Scott Wilson] pouring dozens of bottles of chemicals into a Korea based US military base sink, where they are then washed into the Han River. The creature smashes and attacks people in the small city until it captures a young girl and boy. The father of the young girl believes her to be dead and a memorial service is held. But the girl has managed to take a cellphone with her and places a call which ignites her family to her aid. I got a chance to talk with burgeoning Korean horror director Joon-ho Bong.

Check out the official website for The Host

Daniel Robert Epstein: What made you want to show the monster within the first five minutes of the movie?

Joon-ho Bong: Three reasons. First is that I really hate when we see a typical monster movie and we have to wait almost one hour to see just the tail of the creature. So I really hoped to show my creature really early. The second is the feeling of a real disaster. For example, in a car accident people can never prepare. It’s so sudden and so quick because people cannot prepare for that sudden accident or happening. So in this first attack sequence, I wanted to recreate as close as possible the actual feeling when people are hit with a sudden disaster or accident. The third reason is that the narrative dictated it. There are so many things that happen after the creature appears that I needed it to appear early, so then I could have the story of the virus, the story about the family, the kidnapping and things like that.

DRE: Of course there are thousands of horrible instances where people are killed and then there’s a memorial where people go to pay their respects. But in America it is hard to ignore the parallels that that memorial scene has with the memorials after 9/11. Were you thinking of something specific when it came to that scene?

Bong: Yes. During the 90’s and 2000 in Korea there were a couple of really large scale disasters. Almost unbelievable like a department store suddenly collapsing, crumbling and killing 500 people and in the city of Taegu there was a subway fire which killed 300 people. Whenever things like that happened there was this huge big funeral memorial like in the film. It’s a Korean reality. I portrayed it very real, as it would be at these places. There’s another part because even though it is sad, there are elements of humor in there which I think are true. You’re trying to really focus on being sad, but then you hear someone say, “Ok. Can you please pull out your car, please?” Those things do actually happen.

DRE: I love that Scott Wilson has a great role in this film, what made you think of him?

Bong: I saw his supporting role in Monster [directed by Patty Jenkins]. He was a very good victim in the movie. Also in the 1960’s and 70’s he did many wonderful main roles, In Cold Blood. I also have the DVDs of his movies, The Grissom Gang and The Year of the Quiet Sun. It was my honor to work with him. I sent him just the script and my previous movie, Memories of Murder and he just accepted the role. It was quite an easy choice.

DRE: Was there any communication barrier with dealing with people like Scott or Paul Lazar?

Bong: Those two actors and also a lot of the computer effects artists, are from Australia, New Zealand and [the FX company] The Orphanage in San Francisco. There was no problem because I always had a translator. But I think it’s easier to speak within a work environment or a work context. You have the work so it’s easier to communicate. When I was working with the artists at The Orphanage we used the internet a lot and satellite phones. The only difficulty problem was the difference in time.

DRE: There are hundreds of movies where the American government does something wrong and there’s a monster unleashed on the American people. Even though what creates the monster is based on a real incident, what made you want to make the Americans the ones to put the blame on?

Bong: The actual case is where I got the inspiration. Since I used that case literally, it just ran onto a line of American satire. If you look closely, there’s social commentary, political commentary, regarding the Korean government. On the other hand, it is a tradition of the monster genre to have such commentary. If you look at the sci-fi films of the 40’s and 50’s, you might be like, “Okay. The alien here is representing or symbolizing the Soviet Union.” Maybe years from now, somebody might look back at The Host and be like, “Ok. The monster of the time is America.” But it’s just too simple of an explanation to go with now.

DRE: If The Host was made in America the ending of the film would be very different. But I know that in Korea the idea of sacrifice is very important. Was that what played into your mind in terms of the ending for this film?

Bong: Usually when I’m asked that question I say that the death is not just a simple death. It’s a sacrifice. Since you’ve already asked, I’m very grateful that you’ve already hit it on the nose. The structure of the storyline is very simple. The whole family is out there trying to save Hyun-seo. But simultaneously, back in the dark sewer, she’s actually trying to save someone even weaker than herself, the little boy. So even though the country and the state and society have turned their backs on them, the weak are striving to go ahead and to save someone weaker than themselves. That ties directly with the central theme of the story of the film.

DRE: What made you decide on a smaller creature, rather than something massive?

Bong: I think that the bigger the creature, the less reality it had. Also, if it got big, it would be destroying more things, like buildings and stomping on cars. At the size that it is it can hide behind cars and other things. To have the creature be seen and then unseen does increase the suspense.

DRE: I read that the scene where Nam-il kicks Gang-Du at the funeral was improvised. Is that true?

Bong: No, it was all scripted ahead of time.

DRE: Do you like the actors to try improvisation in your films?

Bong: It depends on the actor and as long as it doesn’t destroy the performance or the moment. There are those actors, who through improv, give more of a realistic performance. For instance, Kang-ho Song is a great example. I urge him on like, “I’m going to give you the main point of this scene or this part” and then I try to get him to run with it to give it a different feel or whatever. But if the actors are younger, or there’s some actors who want to be told every little thing, than I am quite manipulative in every aspect of their acting.

DRE: Sometimes when people make a horror film, they do have ideas that it will go beyond the horror audience. The Host is a film which has already done so well. Did you or your producers ever think that this is a film which could appeal to a broader audience than most Korean films?

Bong: When people hear about this film, they’re going to be curious about the creature. It’s just very simple and it might be juvenile, but people are going to wonder, “What’s the creature going to look like? What’s it going to do?” It’s just an innate curiosity. Now this film also has details and particulars of Korean society. But despite that, I think if you look at the characters of the family, they are people you can find everywhere. I think you could find some universal sympathy from people all over the world.

DRE: Did you have to get everything approved by the Korean government?

Bong: In the mid-90s, with the fall of the military dictatorship, all of censorship was abolished. The government doesn’t get involved or control or censor anything, with this film or with any other film in Korea. There’s something called Korean Film Council which is a government run institution that helps out independent film and low-budget arthouse films. It’s more of a support organization.

DRE: Have you been asked to direct an episode of Masters of Horror?

Bong: I haven’t been asked, but if I were, it would be a great honor. I know a lot of great directors have been asked and have done episodes for that series, like Joe Dante.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

SG Username: AndersWolleck

web address: http://suicidegirls.com/interviews/The+Host+director+Joon-ho+Bong/