Gwoemul (2006)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Joon-ho Bong

Writers:

Chul-hyun Baek (writer)
Joon-ho Bong (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

27 July 2006 (South Korea)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

It is Lurking Behind You

Plot:

A monster emerges from Seoul's Han River and focuses its attention on attacking people.

Plot Keywords:

River | Monster | Daughter | Archery | Panic

Awards:

18 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Kang-ho Song	...	Park Gang-Du
Hie-bong Byeon	...	Park Hie-bong
Hae-il Park	...	Park Nam-il
Du-na Bae	...	Park Nam-Joo
Ah-sung Ko	...	Park Hyun-seo
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Joseph Anselmo	...	Donald
Martin Lord Cayce	...	U.S. Senator
Cristen Cho
Philip Hersh	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Paul Lazar	...	US Doctor trying to operate Gang-Du
Brian Lee
Kurt Leitner	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Clinton Morgan	...	Agent Yellow
Dal-su Oh	...	The Monster (voice)
No-shik Park
Brian Rhee	...	Young Korean Doctor (as Brian Lee)
Scott Wilson	...	US Doctor in Morgue
Pil-Sung Yim	...	Fat Guevara

Directed by
Joon-ho Bong

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Chul-hyun Baek		writer
Joon-ho Bong		writer
Won-jun Ha		writer (as Jun-won Ha)

Produced by
Yong-bae Choi	....	producer
Junyoung Jang	....	co-producer
Neung-yeon Joh	....	producer
Lewis Kim	....	co-producer
Woo-Taek Kim	....	executive producer
Jeong Tae-Sung	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Byung-woo Lee

Cinematography by
Hyung-ku Kim

Film Editing by
Sun-min Kim

Casting by
John Jackson

Production Design by
Seong-hie Ryu

Sound Department
Coll Anderson	....	sound designer
Tae-young Choi	....	sound
Sean Garnhart	....	sound designer
Yasuaki Nakajima	....	adr supervisor
Rob Nokes	....	additional sound effects
Bill Orrico	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Julie Anderson	....	project coordinator
Toby Barron	....	painter
Toby Barron	....	sculptor
Brett Beacham	....	foam latex fabricator
Brett Beacham	....	mold maker
Janine Bray	....	hair technician
Teisha Brook	....	project coordinator
John Cox	....	animatronics supervisor: John Cox's creature Workshop
Liam Hardy	....	painter
Liam Hardy	....	sculptor
Josh Head	....	foam latex fabricator
Josh Head	....	mold maker
Tobias Jahke	....	foam latex fabricator
Tobias Jahke	....	mold maker
Heui-cheol Jang	....	special creature effects
Richard Mueck	....	painter
Richard Mueck	....	sculptor
Cheryl Newton	....	hair technician
Steven Parker	....	painter
Steven Parker	....	sculptor
James Paul	....	animatronics
James Paul	....	on-set technician
David Renn	....	painter
David Renn	....	sculptor
Steven Renn	....	animatronics
Mark Sloane	....	animatronics
Sonny Tilders	....	animatronics

Visual Effects by
Christopher Abeyta	....	production accountant
Shadi Almassizadeh	....	computer graphics supervisor
Lindsay Anderson	....	rotoscope artist
Robert Barker	....	systems engineer
Kirstin Bradfield	....	compositor
Juan Bronson	....	visual effects coordinator
Daniela Calafatello	....	modeler
Francis L. Camacho	....	matchmove artist (as Francis Camacho)
Josh Cardenas	....	digital artist (as Joshua Cardenas)
Carrie Cassada	....	visual effects editor
Irfan Celik	....	lead look development artist
Wei Chin Chen	....	matchmove artist
Jeremy Cho	....	lead 2D paint artist
Jeremy Cho	....	lead roto artist
YouJin Choung	....	compositor (as Youjin Cheung)
Brendan Coffey	....	information technology director
Webster Colcord	....	animation supervisor
Kathleen Cosby	....	digital artist
Kevin Coyle	....	rotoscope artist
Stéphane Cros	....	creature rigger
Rif Dagher	....	lead digital artist (as Rifaat Dagher)
Bruce Dahl	....	animator
Joe C. D'Amato	....	support
Pallavi Devabhaktuni	....	digital paint and rotoscope artist: The Orphanage
Tim Dobbert	....	matchmove supervisor
Andi Dorfan	....	rotoscope artist
Rama Dunayevich	....	publicist: The Orphanage
Greg Dunn	....	systems engineer
Greg Durrett	....	matchmove artist
Trina Espinoza	....	digital artist
Katharine Evans	....	rotoscope artist
Simon Eves	....	software development
Nathan Fariss	....	lead digital artist
Jesse Fernley	....	compositor
Arin Finger	....	visual effects producer
Sharon Fitzgerald	....	recruiter
Kate Geaghan	....	support
David Gladstein	....	software development
Daniel Gloates	....	senior staff: The Orphanage
Juli Gumbiner	....	manager of support and resource admin
Mark Hamilton	....	digital artist
Tyler Ham	....	matchmove artist
Jonathan Harman	....	senior technical director
Marianne Heath	....	rotoscope artist
Paul Hettler	....	senior visual effects producer
Ki Jong Hong	....	creature rigger
Sunghwan Hong	....	rotoscope artist
Kevin Hoppe	....	matchmover: The Orphanage
Jessica Hsieh	....	rotoscope artist
Tony Hurd	....	production operations manager
Michael Hutchinson	....	visual effects assistant editor
Michael Janov	....	lead digital artist
Steve Jaworski	....	lead compositor
Karen Kelly	....	visual effects coordinator
Brook Kievit	....	modeler
Kelly Kim	....	visual effects coordinator
Seryong Kim	....	visual effects consultant
SeungJang 'Jack' Kim	....	modeler
Makoto Koyama	....	animator
Scott Kravitz	....	animator
Heath Kraynak	....	rotoscope artist
Michal Kriukow	....	digital artist
Brian Kulig	....	CG sequence supervisor
Brian Kulig	....	pipeline software developer
Jessica Lai	....	matchmove artist
David Huynh Lam	....	resource technical assistant (as David Lam)
Jeon-hyeong Lee	....	visual effects
Soyoun Lee	....	rotoscope artist
Michael Lester	....	matchmove artist
Jimmy Lillard	....	visual effects assistant editor
Kymber Lim	....	visual effects consultant
Todd Lindo	....	manager of support and resource admin
Daniel Loeb	....	animator
Ting Lo	....	matchmoving artist (as Tiffany Lo)
Jonathan Lyons	....	animator
Kevin Mains	....	resource technical assistant
Stuart T. Maschwitz	....	senior staff: The Orphanage (as Stu Maschwitz)
Kyle McCulloch	....	compositor
Dan McNamara	....	senior staff: The Orphanage
Neil Michka	....	lead animator
Matt Moses	....	digital artist
Ross Nakamura	....	roto/paint artist: The Orphanage
Natalie Nolan	....	compositor
Luke O'Byrne	....	visual effects executive producer
Michael Oregon	....	support
Alex Orzulak	....	resource technical assistant
JaeWook Park	....	digital artist
David Parsons	....	animator
Christopher Paul	....	matchmove artist
David Petry	....	matchmove artist
Alexander Pouchkarev	....	modeler (as Sasha Pouchkarev)
Alex Prichard	....	lead compositor
Ralph Procida	....	digital artist
Kevin Rafferty	....	visual effects supervisor
Nina Rappaport	....	visual effects consultant
Dav Rauch	....	compositor
Aaron Rhodes	....	rotoscope supervisor
Grover Richardson	....	rotoscope artist
Corey Rosen	....	creature supervisor
Jonathan Rothbart	....	visual effects supervising consultant: The Orphanage
Salvador Ruiz	....	animator: The Orphanage
Jesse Russell	....	compositor
Marc Sadeghi	....	executive visual effects producer
Moshe Sayada	....	compositor
Joe Scarr	....	digital artist
Andrew Schneider	....	lead animator
Charles Schwartz	....	matchmove artist (as Charlie Schwartz)
Stan Seo	....	modeler
Nick Sinnott	....	matchmove artist
Carsten Sørensen	....	senior staff: The Orphanage
Michael Spaw	....	CG sequence supervisor
David Stern-Gottfried	....	resource technical assistant
Scott Stewart	....	senior staff: The Orphanage
Lisa Todd	....	visual effects digital production manager
Brian Tolle	....	matchmove lead
Jan Van Buyten	....	animator
Brent Villalobos	....	software development
Carl Walters	....	editorial supervisor
Renee Ward	....	visual effects production assistant
Ken Wesley	....	digital artist
Mary Beth Worzella	....	visual effects digital production manager (as Mary Beth)
Tiffany Wu	....	matchmove/roto coordinator
Jeremy Yabrow	....	software development manager
Andrea Yelle	....	human resources
Danyo Donghyun Yoon	....	pre-visualization artist

Other crew
Daniel Carlisle	....	puppeteer
Wonjo Jeong	....	production coordinator: New Zealand
Phillip Millar	....	puppeteer
Richard Mueck	....	puppeteer
James Paul	....	puppeteer

Production Companies

• Chungeorahm Film
• Showbox Entertainment

Distributors

• A-Film Distribution (2006) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (2007) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution (2007) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2007) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Camera Film (2007) (Denmark) (theatrical)
• Filmtrade (2007) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Gussi Films (2007) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Indo Overseas Film (2006) (India) (theatrical)
• Kadokawa Herald Pictures (2006) (Japan) (theatrical)
• MFA Filmdistribution (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Madman Entertainment (2007) (New Zealand) (theatrical)
• Magnolia Pictures (2007) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• MegaVision (2007) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Nippon Herald Films (2007) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Océan Films (2007) (France) (theatrical)
• Optimum Releasing (2006) (UK) (theatrical)
• Suraya Film Productions (2006) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Atlantic Film (2007) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Bir Film (2006) (Turkey) (all media)
• Future Film (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• Group Power (2006) (Taiwan) (all media)
• Happinet Corporation (2007) (Japan) (DVD)
• Magnolia Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Magnolia Magnet (2008) (USA) (all media)
• Notro Films (2006) (Spain) (all media)
• Optimum Releasing (2007) (UK) (DVD)
• Punto Zero (2009) (Italy) (all media) (as Enjoy Movies)
• Showbox Entertainment (2006) (South Korea) (all media)

Special Effects

• Orphanage, The (visual effects and animation)
• E.O.N. (computer graphics) (as EON Digital Film)
• Eon Digital Films (computer graphics)
• John Cox's Creature Workshop
• Weta Workshop (creature scannable maquette molding and casting)

Other Companies

• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• HFR  digital imaging (as Digital Cinema)
• HFR  digital intermediate
• Happinet Corporation  special thanks
• Magno Sound and Video  adr studio
• Milan Records  soundtrack
• Sound Dogs  additional audio (as Sounddogs.com)
• Soundtrack  trailer

Also Known As:

The Host (International: English title) (UK) (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for creature violence and language.

Runtime:

119 min | Croatia:110 min (DVD)

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Singapore:PG | Hong Kong:IIA | UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Malaysia:U | New Zealand:R13 | USA:R | Germany:16 | Australia:M | Sweden:11 | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:16 | Norway:15 | Netherlands:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Philippines:PG-13 | France:U (with warning) | Brazil:14 | Peru:14 | Mexico:B15 | Canada:14+

Filming Locations:

Dong-ho Bridge, Seoul, South Korea

Company:

Chungeorahm Film

Trivia:

The crew of the film used metal barrels to make the splash effects whenever the monster would dive into the water.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Kang-ho Song's character receives a tissue sample, there is no wound in the remaining scenes, even though he was screaming in pain.

Quotes:

Park Nam-il: Look at that... Isn't that amazing? In this situation?
Park Nam-Joo: Wake him up, there's no time.
Park Hie-bong: Let him sleep a minute. He needs to sleep every so often.
Park Nam-il: Should we leave him here? He's no help anyway?
Park Hie-bong: Kids, wait a minute. Sit down. In your view, is Gang-du really so pathetic?
Park Nam-il: Yup.
Park Nam-Joo: Yes.
Park Hie-bong: You wouldn't know it, but he was a really smart kid. For example, when he was two, he'd sit in front of the village store, and everyone walking by would ask him directions. That's how smart he looked. As you know, when he was young, I was out of my mind, hardly ever coming home, staying out all night. And this poor boy with no mother, he must have been so hungry. Going around, doing seo-ri all the time. Raising himself an organic farm. Whenever he got caught, he'd get beaten up. In this way, he lacked protein when he needed it most. So that's why, every now and then, he dozes off like a sick rooster. I think something up there
[gesturing to his brain]
Park Hie-bong: must have gone wrong too.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2007-03-10)" (2007)

Sleeting Monsoons, Screaming Seoulites and Squid-Fish Monster

Scream for me Seoul! Gwoemul (or The Host) sees South Korea put into a state of hysteria normally reserved for 1950s b-movies. This delightful creature feature is an interesting Asian take on the monster movies of old, with a lot less stagey shtick and a lot more in the way of contemporary concerns and classy film-making.

The film, excellently constructed by director Bong Joon-Ho, centres around the premise that a few years previously an arrogant American official ordered toxic chemicals to be poured down the drain. Thus, said pollutants find their way into the Han River and a mutant is spawned, the 'thing' then goes on to wreak havoc upon the panicked park-goers of Korea's capital city. Poor Seoul isn't only blighted by this watery beast, but also by American scaremongering, secret agendas and monsoon rain; the latter makes the film look all the more bleak and beautifully tragic.

All sounds very appealingly apocalyptic, but what about the monster? Frankly, it's 'orrible: a kind of octopussified-scaly-tentacled-fishfaced-squid-beast that likes to drag schoolkids off to the sewers. A Harryhausen model may be prettier to look at, but it must be admitted that "The Host" in all its CGI sliminess looks the part and shoots the film lightyears away from its papier-mâché and puppet predecessors. Combined with the biting socio-political commentary on offer and the affecting acting performances (as best exemplified by Hie-Bong Byeon and Kang Ho-Song as father and lazy son respectively), Gwoemul manages to root itself in distressing realism.

It may be grey and gruesome, but it's also an enjoyable escapade: a good old-fashioned disaster smash. There's also a little bit of something for everyone, whether it be in the family drama, the social statements, the chase or just purely in the finned fright of 'The Host' itself. South Korea keeps on pumping out vital films and Gwoemul is no exception. With superb special effects and sharp film-making, Gwoemul is something of a modern monster masterpiece.