On March 29, The Host, a movie based off the novel of the same name by Stephenie Meyer, author of The Twilight Saga, premiered in theaters.
Set in a time when the world has been taken over by an alien race, The Host is a fresh take on the “aliens invade earth” cliché. Rather than revolving around a human fighting against the invaders, the main character of The Host is an alien who has been implanted in the body of a human named Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan, The Lovely Bones, Hanna). The alien, given the name Wanderer, or Wanda for short, soon comes to realize that her host, Melanie, won’t fade quietly into the dark recesses of Wanda’s head. Melanie puts up a fight against Wanda and her memories, which won’t go away either, and leads Wanda to a strain of human resistors that are hiding in the desert.
Melanie’s loved ones, including her brother Jamie, Uncle Jeb, and boyfriend Jared, are among the resistors and the humans must fight for their love of Melanie against their hatred for the “parasite” inhabiting her body.
Those familiar with Meyer’s book of the same name, released in 2008, may be disappointed with the movie, although that is to be expected with some film adaptations. Driven by a love triangle that seemingly pops out of nowhere and a lack of special effects in a time when special effects alone sell movie tickets, the plot falls flat, making the novel look even better in comparison. The love triangle, which drives a fair portion of the plot of the novel as well, is presented in a manner that makes it feel as if it could actually happen instead of being rushed to the point of being unrealistic. The main characters are actually able to form relationships with each other, making their feelings–Melanie’s in particular–seem real. As movies often do, The Host felt rushed to the point of being extreme, making the relationship that eventually blossoms feel forced and leaving the audience no time to form emotions, whether positive or negative, for the characters who eventually fall for each other.
Though romance is a prevalent theme throughout the novel, it is overdone and blown out of proportion in the movie, making the movie seem much mushier than the novel.
While it may not sound like it, The Host was an overall enjoyable movie. It wasn’t great, it may not have even been very good to some filmgoers, but for those who enjoyed the novel, The Twilight Saga, or even sappy romance movies in general, The Host will most likely be well received.