Jocelyne Hilary, Staff Writer
Following the world wide success of the Twilight Saga, The Host has been a hugely anticipated movie.
The previews of The Host may have mislead people who were not fans of the Twilight saga to think it was just another cheesy love story with aliens instead of vampires. However, this movie and the story line is relatively different, and it is highly recommended even if you’re aren’t a Meyer’s or Twilight fan.
This movie takes viewers to a very different earth where humans are seen as dangerous, destructive, and evil. This gives aliens the motive to save planet earth by invading and inhabiting in the bodies of the remaining humans.
Melanie, the protagonist, is caught up in the middle of trying to escape alien seekers who are in search of human souls. On the run with her brother Jamie and lover Jared, Melanie is captured by a seeker named Wanderer while attempting to save her brother. Wanderer consumes her body; however, Melanie’s soul fights back the new soul trying to invade her body.
So with one new soul and what’s left of the previous human, Melanie and Wanda are stuck in the same body. The movie progresses and Wanda sees all of Melanie’s memories and realizes that Melanie is a strong, caring person who loves her brother and Jared. Wanda learns that Melanie sacrificed herself in order to keep her brother safe which proves how good she truly is.
Inhabiting Melanie’s body and seeing all of her memories causes Wanda to start to feel what Melanie feels and she begins to realize that the way the “souls” are taking over the humans might not be the path that she wants to follow. So she escapes from the other aliens, including the lead Seeker (Diane Kruger), who will stop at nothing to find all humans and take them over. Wanda gives The Seeker the slip, which doesn’t really sit well. Thrust into a new world, Wanda learns to love the humans, including Melanie.
What’s captivating in this film is the love triangle. Twilight also had a love triangle, but this is one is very different. Jared and Melanie are clearly in love, but a human named Ian starts to fall for Wanda and she reciprocates those feelings for him. What makes this situation particularly difficult is that Melanie and Wanda inhabit the same body.
What made this movie quite confusing is that at times it was hard to be aware as to who is who in Melanie’s body, especially with some of the more intimate kissing scenes. It also gets more confusing when Jared gets hit a couple of times by Melanie/Wanda. However, it does all make sense in its own way.
‘The Host’ is definitely a must see movie. It is a great movie from start to end with twists and surprises. Actress Saoirse Ronan does an amazing job trying to play two roles in one body without looking abnormal. Everything in this movie comes together even though it is a crazy, sci-fi world with teenagers as the lead characters. The actors are really good in their roles, especially for their first major roles on the big screen. Saoirse Ronan is phenomenal and should get notoriety for playing this role and playing it extremely well.
