Gwoemul America

Today we finally get the DVD release (in single and 2-disc editions) of Gwoemul/The Host, Bong Joon-ho's terrific genre mishmash, political statement, and glimpse of human nature, all in the guise of a rampaging mutant frog-fish.

Editorial comment aside - of which there could be much for this wonderful film - the business of this blog is remake and sequel, and The Host is lined up for both. Released on July 27, 2006, the flick became South Korea's all-time box-office champ in early September. By the end of the month, the bidding war was in full swing, and by the first day or two in November, Universal emerged as the victor. No director or casting has been announced.

As a side note, this is all the debunking needed for the occasionally reappearing theory of 'Cloverfield = Host remake.' Even if you could work the Slusho story into the Host storyline on the undersea mutation angle, with Cloverfield at Paramount, strike that theory out.

Chungeorahm Films, a Korean distributor turned production house in 2004, has announced that a Host sequel is also in the works, tentatively set for 2009. Bong Joon-ho will not direct. The film will be an all-Korean production, meaning that the various international effects houses who played a part in the first film's success will not return. The monster is expected to return.