Where did the inspiration for The Host originate?
When I was young, I lived by the Han River, and from my apartment window I would look down on it and think, "What if something like Loch Ness, Nessie, came out of the Han River?" When I first pitched it to my producer, I actually Photoshopped a picture I took of the Han River and Nessie together and said, "This is what the film is."
Did you analyze other monster films for things to do or avoid?
As a movie fan, of course, I enjoyed the monster movies as a kid. But I'm not a big, huge fan of that kind of B-horror monster pictures. I enjoy the classics. For example, John Carpenter's The Thing—I love that movie, a favorite, a great movie. And Jaws, by Steven Spielberg. But I didn't go and analyze Jaws, but I think, subconsciously, there are influences from it. Also, when I was writing the script, Signs, by M. Night Shyamalan, was also very inspiring. The story deals with the invasion of the alien or something, but it's strongly focused on the emotional details of the family.
What was behind your decision to not only show the creature in the first 16 minutes of the film, but in broad daylight?
I really hate the convention [of] waiting an hour just to see the tail of the monster. Having the creature hidden longer, everyone would be like, "I wonder what the creature looks like?" Or, "I wonder how we kill it?" It would have been very ... ordinary. But with the audience already having seen the monster, they can explore other things—they can concentrate on the emotions of the family.
Your focus on the family drama is so intense, it's almost like the monster exists solely so you can concentrate on the problems the family faces.
Exactly!
Everyone agrees that Godzilla was a metaphor for the A-bomb dropped on Japan and the damag it caused. What does the monster in The Host represent?
In the beginning, when the creature is given birth by America pouring all this formaldehyde into the river, I guess, in a very simple sense, you could say it's a metaphor for America. When we showed it at Cannes there was one journalist in particular who, during the press conference, kept repeating, "The monster's America, right? The monster's America!"
Anyway, it turns out he was from the Middle East. But I think it would be kind of wrong to just simplify it so, so ... simply.
Yeah—there's also plenty of blame spread to the Korean government, and then pan-corporate misery profiteering made possible by the effects of monster's rampage.
There's a lot of satire of Korean society, but instead of looking at it from the point of view of Korean or American society, it becomes very universal if you ask the question, "Has any state or country or system ever helped the weak person?"
Is the film's political crankiness a reaction to the FTA? [The Korea-U.S. Free Trade Act, which is viewed by Koreans as a sweetheart deal for U.S. pharmaceutical and agricultural interests; it would also erase regulations that have required 50 percent of Korean film be homegrown, thus allowing U.S. films to flood the Korean market.]
[Aping possibly mock horror]: FTA!!! [Regains poise.] I grew up watching American films, listening to American music, eating American fast food ... [laughs] Super size me!
But at the same time there's that stress that's coming from stuff like the FTA and the [resulting Korean public] frustration and hysteria.
Do you feel a kinship to Guillermo Del Toro and his blend of the beautiful, fantastic and political?
Yes. I really like The Devil's Backbone—a very beautiful movie. I also really enjoyed Pan's Labyrinth. But I think he's more visually extravagant than I am, or beautiful. I want to create such images, but at the same time, there's a twisted part of me that wants to destroy the beauty!
What do you hope American audiences will get from watching The Host?
My hope is they enjoy this weak-family story. Even in America, unless you're of a very special class, [audiences should be able to] enjoy the everyday Joe, family story.
And political stuff?
Well, you know ... if they leave the theater thinking, that would be great.
Even with that scene where the one "good" American proves himself useless?
[Anther grin.] The actor is Canadian. Blame Canada!