THE HOST — SHOCKTOBER!

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Asian monster movies get a big jolt of postmodern temperament and special effects execution from South Korean writer/director Bong Joon-ho as he takes the genre to a new level.

Using an actual event of U.S. Army toxic dumping in Seoul’s Han River as its stepping-off point, the plot unleashes a giant tadpole creature capable of doing as much damage on land as in the water.

A riverside snack stand owner (Byeon Heui-bong), his son Gang-du (Song Gang-ho) and granddaughter Hyeon-seo (Ko A-sung) are among the first unfortunate populace to be attacked by the monster that absconds into the river with the teenaged Hyeon-seo in its grip.

A government quarantine and an impotent U.S. military abet against Gang-du’s efforts to save his daughter from the beast until he escapes to carry out his mission.

Part social satire, horror, comedy, and family drama "The Host" is an exciting example of cinematic bravura that signals a new day for Asian cinema.

Not Rated. 119 mins.

I SAW THE DEVIL — SHOCKTOBER!

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Following in the tracks of celebrated Korean filmmaker Chan-wook Park, director Ji-woon Kim affects a similar tone of grotesque violence to incite reflection about social values.

Byung-hun Lee plays Soo-hyun, a South Korean government secret agent whose pregnant fiancée is brutally murdered and dismembered by serial killer Kyung-chul, played by Chan-wook Park regular Min-sik Choi. The agent uses information supplied by his fiancée's retired police chief father to track down suspects.

The trail leads Soo-hyun to Kung-chul, but the agent chooses to employ a shocking brand of justice. He viciously tortures the serial killer before releasing him, albeit with a GPS device planted in his stomach, so he can repeat the hunt-and-torment process again and again. It's a flawed plan that leaves a lot of innocent bystanders dead in its wake. But there's an unforeseen upside too.

"I Saw the Devil" is a gritty and gory discourse on the nature of revenge. The film falls neatly alongside Chan-wook Park's cinema of vehemence. It's a visceral experience that leaves you shaken, and with plenty to think about.

Not Rated. 144 mins. 

THE WAILING — SHOCKTOBER!

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Cannes, France —No other film was repeatedly praised as much on the street at Cannes in 2016 than Na Hong Jin’s “Goksung” (“The Wailing”). Fitting neatly into the festival’s cannibal phenomena (there were five cannibalism-related pictures in the festival), “The Wailing” borrows ever so gently from “The Exorcist” to weave an intricate tale of horror that is part who-(or what)-done-it.

The film’s Korean title (Goksung) refers to the filmmaker’s grandmother’s hometown, a place where Northern persecuted Catholics fled to before being martyred. In “the Wailing” a local reliably unreliable shaman stands in for the Catholic priests of William Friedkin’s “Exorcist.” Spewing bloody vomit? Check.

Korean actor Kwak Do-won goes from comedic to terrifying as Jong-Goo, a sometimes bumbling police chief on the trail of bloody communal murders committed under the auspices of supernatural powers acting out through humans in bizarre deadly attacks. One man stabs his wife and children to death without provocation. Blood cover the walls. More such unexplained killings go on; in each gory episode the killer takes on a zombie-like appearance with demon red eyes and dark boiling skin. Grody. 

The film leverages racial discomfort between Japanese and Korean cultures with a demonically possessed Japanese man (Jun Kunimura) who has a taste for human, and wild animal, meat. This guy is about as far from normal as you could possibly get. Whether or not he is the Devil incarnate, is up for grabs. I'm sure some of the film's political commentary regarding race relations between Japan and Korea will go over the heads of most Western audiences (myself included). Nonetheless, this thematic subtext is available for audiences interested in looking beneath the story's surface for thematic substance.  

An evil spirit takes over Jong-Goo’s young daughter Hyo-jin (Kim Hwan-hee). The disturbing invasion of his little girl sends our personally invested cop on a desperate journey to conquer the evil powers attacking him, his family, and his town.

Beautifully photographed and full of brutal imagery, “The Wailing” strikes a sophisticated balance that encompasses action, character, plot and thematic elements with impact and style. While far from a perfect film, this unconventional exploration in horror sends cinematic chills right through you. Its open ending seems to allow for the possibility of a sequel. Yes, please.

Not Rated. 156 mins.