The Host

Cast of Characters:

Melanie Stryder/Wanderer - Saoirse Ronan

Ian O'Shea - Jake Abel

Jared Howe - Max Irons

Maggie Stryder - Frances Fisher

Jamie Stryder - Chandler Canterbury

The Seeker - Diane Kruger

Jeb Stryder - William Hurt

Director - Andrew Niccol

Screenplay - Andrew Niccol

Based on the novel "The Host" by Stephenie Myer

Rated PG-13 for some sensuality and violence

      Obviously, unless you've been living under a rock for the past five to ten years, you know the Twilight series has become a huge hit both in film and book. While many teen to young adult girls ate that melodramatic crap up, I found it to be just that... melodramatic crap. Twilight author Stephenie Myer has written another novel The Host which has now, in 2013, been turned into a feature length film.

      In the future, the human race has been assimilated by a rather peaceful group of extra-terrestrials known as "souls". They look like what a caterpillar might appear to you as if strung out on LSD. One night, Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan) - a non-assimilated human - is being "hunted" down (for lack of a more benevolent term) by The Seeker (Diane Kruger). Melanie is taken into custody and infused with a "soul". Now assimilated, the new Melanie names herself Wanderer. The Seeker gives her one job: to use her memories to track down any remaining humans.

      One problem though - Melanie's own soul seems to not wanna go down without a fight and struggles with Wanderer from within her mind. With Wanderer now hesitant to divulge any possible information on people Melanie might have known in the past, The Seeker decides to put the "soul" in a new more cooperative body. Upon finding out what will happen, Wanderer listens to Melanie and breaks out, heading for the desert.

      While in the desert, Wanderer is discovered by Jeb Stryder (William Hurt), Melanie's uncle. Jeb hasn't been assimilated and has even created a self-sustaining colony from within the desert rock formations. He soon realizes that Melanie has been taken over by a "soul", but takes pity on her regardless. The others in his camp, including Melanie's Aunt Maggie (Frances Fisher) and her former boyfriend Jared Howe (Max Irons), are anything but sympathetic. The one exception, other than Jeb, is her younger brother Jamie (Chandler Canterbury). Much to most everyone's disapproval, Jeb takes Wanderer in and gives her a place to stay. One of the other members, Ian O'Shea (Jake Abel), takes a liking to her because what's a Stephenie Myer story without a complicated love triangle? Not all is right with the world just yet, though, as The Seeker is still on the lookout for Wanderer.

      Okay, for those that have read my reviews, I've given my thoughts on Twilight before, so there's no need for me to beat that dead horse some more here. Plus, this is The Host, not Twilight. What good is me reviewing movies if I'm just gonna be biased toward one film all 'cause of another? I haven't read the Stephenie Myer novel version of The Host, so I'm strictly gonna review this as its own movie. For starters, I will say this is an interesting premise. The idea of non-violent extra-terrestrials inhabiting humans, yet somehow the humans still feel like a prisoner inside is intriguing. Writer/director Andrew Niccol is no stranger to films about fabricated worlds. The Truman Show and Gattaca, both previous efforts of his, dealt with that issue. Here he does a solid job once again creating two worlds: the self-sustaining colony of the survivors and the Utopian-like world of the "souls". There's very little CGI or heavy action sequences (most often associated with science-fiction films), but that's not the problem. In fact, I found it kinda unique and refreshing to see a filmmaker's take on a sci-fi flick without the aid of special effects that normally go hand and hand with it. The problem though is that there's very little if any dramatic tension at all. Granted, at times there are some genuinely, thrilling moments, but then more often than not, you start to wonder if the film has any pulse. Most of the performance are solid. Saoirse Ronan is fine in the lead role, though there are times when the Melanie counter-voice in her head borders on unintentionally funny. Diane Kruger is well cast as the main antagonist on the hunt for Wanderer, and William Hurt is a delight here. Hurt has always been a great character actor for years, and in this film he's once again great, putting a more restrained approach on the cliche "leader of the survivors" character that typically is the more irrational, gung-ho one of the bunch. The love triangle obviously doesn't add much to the film, although it's nowhere near as morose or full of pain and longing like Team Edward and Team Jacob.

      I can appreciate the idea of a sci-fi film wanting to be different from the rest. Without special effects, or explosions, or in your face action sequences, I was intrigued by the idea of it being more story driven. I just wish there was a little bit more tension involved. Drama. Anything. It's not a bad film by any means, but I can't quite give it a strong recommendation. The direction and performances though are enough to merit me saying it's worth a mild recommendation when it comes out on disc and what the hell, I'll say it again... Still a better love story than Twilight. I give The Host a C+ (★★½).