It’s a strange world—humans are vanishing from the planet and aliens are taking over their bodies. Promoting peace and respect for all, aliens have taken over in the hopes of making the world a better place. Only a few handfuls of humans remain and are in hiding.
One of these humans, Melanie, is on the run with her little brother and boyfriend, Jared. One night, Seekers (aliens assigned to capture humans) traps Melanie in a building. She jumps through a glass window, six stories above the ground. What would have been fatal for nearly everyone else only leaves Melanie in a coma. The Seekers take her to what appears to be some sort of alien hospital and insert a slug like creature into her neck–a procedure being done on thousands of humans the world over. Once this is completed, the human has become merely a Soul. Some humans prove to be stronger than others, such as the case with Melanie. An alien named Wanderer takes over her body but she is strong in mind and fights back. Wanderer’s job is to infiltrate Melanie’s memories, in hopes of discovering where other humans may be but Melanie doesn’t make it easy.
Melanie forces Wanderer to look for her family but more problems arise when they do find them, as the family and other survivors are wary of Wanderer. A group of survivors have set up shop in a large cave, equipped with a hot spring and solar panels, which allow them to grow wheat. The family must decide what is to become of Wanderer—some want to kill her but some sense that Melanie is still alive, inside Wanderer.
But not all the drama is heavy. Like any teenage girl, Melanie/Wanderer has to deal with the issue of boys. Melanie’s old boyfriend, Jared, is a resident of the camp, as well as another boy named Ian, who is becoming quite fond of Wanderer. There may be two girls, but there is only one physical body, which cause for some funny scenes in which Melanie and Wanderer fight over the boys.
Saoirse Ronan, known for “Atonement,” “The Lovely Bones” and “Hanna” shines in the lead role of Melanie/Wanderer. As Melanie, she is a warrior (much like her role in “Hanna”) and as Wanderer, she is pure and angelic. Another notable performance is Diane Kruger, the vigorous Seeker who captures Melanie and then later ferociously searches for her, knowing Melanie is the key to finding the human resistance. Her passion for finding humans causes her to spiral downward into a pit of anger and rage the other Seeker’s do not understand. Although a supporting role, The Seeker’s emotional journey is as interesting as Melanie’s.
Adapted from Stephanie Meyers’ book of the same name, “The Host” as a movie lacks some of the luster it has as a book. The movie is intriguing but tends to move slowly. Much of the conflicts Melanie and Wanderer have are portrayed via voiceover, as Melanie is simply a voice in Wanderer’s head. This can make certain scenes feel taxing on the screen, but one can see how emotional they would read.
It’s hard to create an alternate reality or a science fiction world that hasn’t been seen before, so props must go to Stephanie Meyer’s story telling and director, Andrew Niccol’s re-creation of it. “The Host” has a wonderful premise but the execution is lacking the excitement that many people want from a science fiction film. Despite that, it is a very interesting movie, which begs all kinds of philosophical questions about the nature of humanity and the soul.
