The Host (2013)

How many of you are fans of Stephenie Meyer? The same person who tortured us with the Twilight series and the movies that came in after that.  Even if you are a fan, you will find The Host to be one of the biggest drags that has ever graced cinema – one that will challenge every single muscle in your eyelids from not dropping off.

Firstly she has moved from Fantasia to science fiction – a genre that she should keep away from for the rest of her life.  Because there is nothing in SciFi that can be slow.  Right? But Meyer thinks differently and therefore she has challenged the status quo only to get egg on her face.

We have reached an age on earth where there are little or no worries There is no pollution.  The ozone layer has come back to the way it used to be.  There are little or no instances of terrorism.  It is a peaceful existence. But there is more to it.  We have been invaded by an alien force which has got us to this situation.

Hell.  I say get those aliens into this world soon.  It would seem that they take over human beings like parasites.  They use their bodies to survive after erasing their memories.  They have taken over mother earth and the last living human beings are struggling to stay alive and keeping away from the Seekers.

One of the last few humans is Melanie (Saoirse Ronan) who gets captured by The Seeker (Diane Kruger).  She gets her new soul which will be called Wanderer and eventually Wanda.  However, Melanie’s mind resists the change and slowly but surely converts Wanda into an empathizer and eventually a supporter of the human race.

By now, if you haven’t clawed your hair apart or scratched your face like you see in those zombie movies, then you should be given a medal (1 am first in line there).  If that doesn’t kill you, don’t worry, the complete lack of any sensible screenplay or dialogues will definitely manage it.

What is surprising is that an otherwise sensible director, Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, In Time) actually agreed to direct this piece of writing.  That it was produced by Stephenie Meyer herself comes as no surprise because no self-respecting producer would have probably agreed to it.  Ditto for Saoirse (Seersha) Ronan and Diane Kruger who are fine actresses and find themselves in this silly soup.

Do you remember that Tom & Jerry episode where Tom is feeling so sleepy that he has to use matchsticks to prop his eyebrows up? Take as many matchsticks as you can because you will need them.  The Host is better than most of the sleeping pills available in the market.  3 on 10 purely because of some decent performances and effects.

Watch the trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1617274649/?ref_=tt_ov_vi