I don’t want to seem an ungracious guest, but I don’t know if I met the right host. I really need to start keeping track of film dates as well as titles. I found two versions of The Host and one was free. (This is the 2020 version.) Despite what the critics say, I liked it. It borrows quite a lot from Alfred Hitchcock, and, I’m told, from Hostel (which I’ve never seen). The plot is complex and, it may be my own naiveté, but it kept me guessing. It’s the story of how a down-on-his-luck Englishman mistakenly gets involved in a drug smuggling operation. He travels to Amsterdam where his “hotel” claims they’ve lost the reservation but they can set him up in a stylish house with a local who has extra room. The local turns out to be a very influential psychotic. Herein hangs the tale.
For me, I couldn’t guess where this was going. I thought the drug smugglers were the real scary people but then odd things start happening with the Englishman’s host. When he doesn’t show up to work on Monday his brother goes looking for him and he too meets “the host.” The charming murderer is generally a male role, but Vera, the host, plays it well. It seems to me that those who criticize the movie most strongly have some viewing experiences that I lack. This is a polished effort and it doesn’t appear to have been cheaply done. The story has many twists and although it may imitate others, that’s how new filmmakers get started. Most writers are willing to admit that they borrow. Doing so with style can make a huge amount of difference.
What remains unclear to me is whether this was The Host I was supposed to watch or not. There’s a 2013 sci-fi thriller by that title and I also found a 2006 monster film from South Korea. With a few exceptions, movie titles tend to be short. You can’t copyright a title. And sometimes the most appropriate one for your work has already been taken. Here (the 2020 version) the title maybe gives away who it is you’re intended to watch out for. The drug dealers aren’t an idle threat, but Vera is a spider waiting in her web. And the movie has a moral—actions have consequences. The original apparent protagonist has little to no self control which he blames on an abusive upbringing. There’s quite a lot of father-relationship analysis going on here as well. If anything, The Host (2020) may be a little too ambitious, but it’s worth staying a spell.
