20 Years Later, Bong Joon-Ho Looks Back at His Sci-Fi Thriller Masterpiece: 'It Was a Very Tough Process'
The director of 'The Host' reveals the surprising influences behind his breakout monster movie
Bong Joon-ho has spoken about the creation of his 2006 sci-fi horror film The Host, which now marks its 20th anniversary. In a 2006 interview, the director revealed that the mutated monster in The Host drew inspiration from a creature he saw in Seoul's Han River 19 years prior. Bong, who has since become a renowned filmmaker with films like Parasite and Snowpiercer, explained that the pressure of attending high school likely led to the delusional idea of a river monster.
The film's origin story includes two factual inspirations: the Han River and the Loch Ness monster, which combined in his mind to create the monster's presence. Bong also mentioned that the incident of formaldehyde being dumped into the Han River, known as the McFarland Incident, served as a real-life basis for the movie's inciting event.
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