a5c7b9f00b A race of non-corporeal, parasitic aliens who go from planet to planet looking for hosts have come to Earth and basically taken over the human race. It's believed that, once inside a body, all memories of the host human are gone. Some few free humans remain hidden from them, forming a resistance group. When an alien Seeker captures a girl named Melanie and puts a Wanderer in her body, she hopes to find out where the remaining humans are gathered, but Melanie, a strong fighter able to converse with the alien in her commandeered body, convinces the Wanderer to say nothing. Disappointed by the lack of progress (though suspecting an empathy for the human), the Seeker informs the Wanderer that she'll be removed and placed in a new host while she herself will enter Melanie. With human lives at risk, Melanie convinces Wanderer to run away and hide out with the humans, but finding them doesn't mean they'll allow an alien presence among them. Jared (Melanie's boyfriend) wants her dead, but Jeb (Melanie's uncle) wants to wait, and Ian, tasked with guarding her, finds himself siding with Jeb. As Ian begins to fall for Melanie, a strange love triangle develops, with Ian wanting Wanderer (inhabiting Melanie's body), Jared wanting Melanie (imprisoned inside her own body), and no one knowing any way to separate the two without killing both.
When an unseen enemy threatens mankind by taking over their bodies and erasing their memories, Melanie will risk everything to protect the people she cares most about, proving that love can conquer all in a dangerous new world.
I found the movie very good. I would have changed some of the story, especially at the end. The simplest thing I believe it is to make a list with things I liked and did not like:<br/><br/><ul><li>I liked when the seeker killed another of their race - hated that the writer decided that it was the human's fault. It complicates things and makes the aliens much more perfect than they should. Would have been nice for the aliens to have a dictatorship type of society where although at the surface everything is nice and well, all is maintained by eliminating people not conforming. -though that the decision to die of the alien Wanda was illogical. 1000 years is a small amount of time. Adam was 930 when he died and when he was asked how he thought about life he said: "It was like entering a door and exiting another". Another problem are the useless complications due to the seeker's host. As I said making that murder the host's fault was mistake. Also they kill a lot of people, but no one is judged. The host kills another human. Even if possessed by the alien is still murder, but no one judges her. At the same time everyone is horrified they killed a few aliens. So killing from your species is irrelevant, but killing some alien worms is OK?</li></ul><br/><br/>CONCLUSION: But with all the faults I found the movie enjoyable.I was surprised it was written by Smeyer .I hated Twilight before hating it was popular, yet the movie is OK. It is not great and has its faults, but is is enjoyable.The biggest fault as I said was making the murder the host's fault. I am tired by the "human's are awful" propaganda.
At first glance, this looks like a repackaging of something familiar. The premises on which this sci-fi is built is however quite unique and requires some effort to appreciate. This is not your familiar Jekyll-and-Hyde yarn. Nor is the possessing of the "host" body anything similar to the too-often-remade "body snatcher" mode whereby the human body is mysteriously taken over by a mystical invading alien. Aliens indeed they are in this movie, but with a specific physical shape which I can best describe as a luminous amoeba. This is not totally accurate because the body is not a spongy flux but more like an amalgamation of hair-thin wires. It's so small that you can hold it in the palm of one hand. In this movie, this species is called "souls".<br/><br/>The possessing of the human body is done surgically, by incision of a cut at the side of the neck through which the "soul" is implanted. At the start of the story the majority of the human species has already been taken over so the surgical operation we witness is executed by "souls" that are in human form. But if you want to ask a question that I am already asking myself – how was the very first implanting done – better send it to the movie makers. Another question has a much clearer and satisfactory answer: how can you tell whether a human body is actually a "soul"? Look at their eyes – you'll know what a mean when you watch the movie. The "soul", incidentally, is a peaceful species, at least in the context of physical violence. On the other hand, while it has not been specifically explained, it would appear that the human being taken over by a "soul" would lose its identity, sort of fade away to oblivion. However, there are exceptions, and this brings us to our protagonist, a lovely young woman called Melanie (Saoirse Ronan).<br/><br/>Endeavoring together with her kid brother and boyfriend to locate any remaining "free" human, Melanie is herself captured and implanted with a "soul" called Wanda. Melanie, a girl with a fiercely strong will, refuses to fade away but continues to reside in here body which is now shared by Wanda who happens to be among a more gentle specimen of her species (the "souls" if you have already forgotten). This makes the body somewhat "crowded" (in their own words) and the greatest pleasure in watching this movie is to see how the two "girls", starting with understandable animosity, gradually learn to live with one another, culminating in developing such a deep bonding that they call each other "sister". Don't worry about being confused. It's extremely simple to tell them apart: when Wanda speaks, the jointly occupied body (that of lovely Ms Ronan) speaks; when Melanie speaks, it's a VO. Also, don't forget that during more than 90% of the movie, when we are watching Melanie it is really Wanda. But never forget that the real Wanda is an amoeba substance that you can hold in the palm of your hand, as explained before. When I talk about Wanda, however, it is obvious with reference to the physical manifestation of Ms Ronan.<br/><br/>Driven by the strong will power of Melanie inside her, Wanda escapes and, dodging a hunting party lead by The Seeker (Diane Kruger), is captured by a band of human resistance led by a man called Jeb (William Hurt). There she also finds her kid brother and boyfriend. Recognized easily as a "soul", Wanda would have been killed had not the sensible Jeb intervened. As Wanda is a gentle creature and she is gradually accepted by the humans. Both girls, Wanda and Melanie, however, feel that it is pointless to explain their coexistence as nobody would believe them. But when Melanie's kid brother (Chandler Canterbury) finally accepts their story, others are also gradually won over. This now creates some rather awkward situations. Melanie's boyfriend, while yarning for her, knows that if he kisses this body that was once his girlfriend's, he is only kissing Wanda while Melanie is trapped somewhere in there. Another young man, who is falling for Wanda not so much for Melanie's body but for Wanda's gentle nature, finds it hard to have real privacy with his love. When they kiss, Melanie inside the body has to "go to another room" in that body so that Wanda can have her privacy.<br/><br/>All this happens against the backdrop of the war between the dominating "souls" and the hidden resistance. The dramatic climax however is in the intimate story. Gentle Wanda is determined to return the body to Melanie, meaning sacrificing herself because having lived with humans for a period of time, she cannot allow herself to possess another human to whom, not as strong-willed as Melanie, the possession is tantamount to a death sentence.<br/><br/>In my review of "Hanna", I mentioned that Ronan, after stealing every scene in "Atonement" as the little girl who tells on her sister, seems to be capitalizing on her quality of "otherworldliness", appearing as a spirit of a murdered girl in "Lovely bones" and a genetically-tempered-with killer in "Hanna". This seems to be continuing, with her doing a superb job with Melanie/Wanda. Even with alien-occupied eyes, Kruger is beautiful as ever. I believe I have seen her before in these ruthless evil roles, although I can't quite recall which movie. Hunt provides solid support as always. Young Canterbury (seen as 8-year-old Benjamin Button a few years ago) has put in some very good performances. One other mention I have to make is an uncredited, cameo appearance at the end of the movie: Emily Browning who nine years old played the little girl Violet in "Lemony Snicket's a serious of unfortunate events".
The Host will make perfect sense to 12-year-old girls, while their college-age sisters will probably laugh themselves sick and their mothers will look at Hurt and wonder when he got so old.