Host (2025)

Was one boy truly worth it? No girl power in this movie.

The whole plot is teens bullying each other and breaking all the horror rules possible, but somehow too many of them stay alive. I did enjoy how layered the movie was despite the simple plot. Setting on the isolated island for female juvenile offenders (which alone sounds tragic), the supernatural components and well developed lore with interesting visuals, well done kills and even pacing made the movie an enjoyable journey. Yes, there was not one character to truly root for, and more likely than not you will want to see them all dead by the end, but the dynamics, even if annoying, were keeping my attention.

All that said, the movie is too long for such an unsatisfying ending. If I have to sit through over two hours of teens bullying each other, I want some cathartic conclusion, not whatever this was. It was for sure a more interesting ending, but it just left me annoyed. I think they either should have made it more simple, or even more complex with just one more twist as a cherry on top.

Baipor and Perth delivered great performances. Both Ing and Aim were annoying for different reasons, but they played off of each other's characteristics well. The way Ing was slowly breaking more and more, while Aim started to lose her control and confidence - a game in which there are no winners.

The production value was nice. I wish some scenes were better lit, but it was not bad enough where I could not see anything. The design for the supernatural was decent, but not scary. Some kills were better than others.

Overall, it is too long to be called a simple afternoon quick watch, but it is interesting enough to actually sit down and see. Nothing groundbreaking. Simple, but well executed.

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