The best film we’ve seen at the NYFF (and maybe in 2006), The Host is a straight-up classic monster movie from South Korea in the fine tradition of Godzilla, Them!, and Attack of the Mushroom People. Bong Joon-ho’s second film is based on a sorta true story of a few years back, in which American toxic waste was proven to be the cause of some seriously mutated fish. In the flick, American dumping of formaldehyde into the Han River gives rise to a monstrous pissed off guppy with teeth, which proceeds to rampage through Seoul and gorge on a few Koreans (and a few Americans to boot). When the amphibious beast nabs a ridiculously cute little girl, her deadbeat dad and his misfit family must band together to get her back. The movie is scary, funny as hell, filled with kick-ass effects and somehow manages to be an insightful look at family dynamics.

You have two chances to see The Host at NYFF: a midnight showing tonight and Monday the 9th at 3:30. The film will get a theatrical release in NY somewhere in Jan. But better to see it now. Trust us.