The Host is a 2013 American romantic science fiction thriller film adapted from Stephenie Meyer’s 2008 novel of the same name. It tells the story of a young woman, Melanie, who is captured after the human race has been taken over by parasitic aliens called “Souls”.
After Melanie is infused with a soul called “Wanderer”, Melanie and the alien “Soul” vie for control of her body. Written and directed by Andrew Niccol, the film stars Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, Jake Abel, William Hurt, and Diane Kruger. Released in theaters on March 29, 2013, the film was poorly received by critics.
The Host Movie Cast
- Saoirse Ronan as Melanie Stryder / Wanderer a.k.a. Wanda.
- Max Irons as Jared.
- Jake Abel as Ian
- Frances Fisher as Maggie.
- Chandler Canterbury as Jamie Stryder.
- Diane Kruger as Seeker & Lacey.
- William Hurt as Jebediah.
- Boyd Holbrook as Kyle.
- Scott Lawrence as Doc.
- Rachel Roberts as Soul Fleur.
- Shawn Carter Peterson as Wes.
- Lee Hardee as Aaron.
- Phil Austin as Seeker Waverly.
- Raeden Greer as Lily.
- J. D. Evermore as Trevor Stryder.
- Emily Browning as Wanda (Pet) (uncredited.
- Mustafa Harris as Brandt.
- Bokeem Woodbine as Nate.
- Alex Russell as Seeker Burns.
The Host Movie Plot
The human race has been taken over by small parasitic aliens called “Souls”. They travel to planets inserting themselves into a host body of that planet’s dominant species while suppressing the host’s consciousness.
Deeming the humans too violent to deserve the planet, they have now almost successfully taken over Earth. The consciousness of the original owner is erased, but the Souls can access the host’s memories, and occupied hosts are identifiable by silver rings in the hosts’ eyes.
The Host Movie Review
This film is adapted from Stephenie Meyer’s 2008 novel of the same name. According to readers the movies plot isn’t as same as the Book and that is what disappoints them. It’s a teen flick.
We love to see a Saoirse Ronan film , but this one didn’t give us the same feels.
Many people say that it’s kind of cringey with all the voice thingy inside the soul and that the Aliens are taking over human bodies and stuff like that.
What we think is that , come on people, it’s a sci-fi and anything can happen in a film like this…even though it doesn’t follow the book atleast it gives out some message?
We focus so much on the whole presentation thing that we forget what the film is actually about, what the story actually means. I mean we should for once ignore all the cringey part (and yes we do agree it has that) and focus on the message?
This film shows you that how a human interacts with an unknown Alien species that is inside their body and how both of them control this body. How they become friends and learn from each other. How one species unite with the other species that isn’t from the same planet, at the end of the film.
We haven’t read the book and that is why we kind of enjoy this film. And if you have read the book then just don’t disappoint yourself with watching this film as other readers say.
The Host Film Critical Reception
The film was widely panned by critics. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 9% based on 128 reviews, with an average rating of 3.58/10. The site’s consensus states, “Poorly scripted and dramatically ineffective, The Host is mostly stale and tedious, with moments of unintentional hilarity.”
On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating based on reviews, the film has a score of 35 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating “generally unfavorable reviews”.
On CinemaScore polls, audiences gave the film a grade of “B−“ on a scale of A+ to F.
Manohla Dargis of The New York Times gave the film an unfavorable review, calling it “a brazen combination of unoriginal science-fiction themes, young-adult pandering and bottom-line calculation”.
Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter felt that “it’s cloaked in yawningly familiar teen-romance terms and cries out for even a little seasoning of wit, irreverence, political smarts and genre twists that, given the well-trod terrain, seem like requisites when presenting visions of the near future.”
The Movie Culture Synopsis
This film might not be a great film to watch but we love to see Saoirse Ronan, and who doesn’t? It is an underrated film and has got bad reviews, it’s also called cringeworthy and that it doesn’t completely follow the book.
We must say that if you look at the bright side , Saoirse Ronan makes any film watchable. She’s a great actress and we admire her a lot.
Maybe if you haven’t read the book give this movie a shot and let us know in the comments how you feel about it. We would give this one a 5/10 rating.
This film is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.
