The Host Movie

When I read The Host by Stephanie Meyer at the time it was one of the hardest books for me to get through.  This was before eReaders and Nook and all the fancy things we have today.  Back when it was just books (yes there was a time we just had physical books) the length of the book was the main reason why I could not get through it.  I was always looking to see how much I had left, figuring out the percentage instead of worrying about the story. The book took me about 6 months to read. I had to force myself to go back and read it; I was very intrigued by the genre and plot but the amount of pages kept getting in the way.  Meyer did use more description than I like in The Host which made it very difficult to keep my attention for long periods of time (hence the time it took me to finish the book).I know that I missed a few things and when I heard the movie was being made, I was ecstatic.  And in October of 2014 I finally got around to watching it.  

I should have watched it sooner.

The Host tells the tale of an alien race called Souls that have come to Earth and deemed the human race too violent to preserve the planet. They inhabit their bodies, taking them over fully, leaving the memories of the human intact but the consciousness is erased. This story revolves around one particular Soul named Wanderer who inhabits the body of Melanie Stryder, a member of the human resistance. When implanted into Melanie, Melanie’s consciousness does not leave, resisting the control of the Soul. Along the way, Melanie and Wanderer bond and start to befriend each other and go after the rest of the resistance including Melanie’s brother and boyfriend.

This movie was amazing.  It brought back all of the plot lines and characters that I loved from the book. Seeing the plots and scenes played out on the big screen was perfect for me. When I was reading the book I found it hard to imagine what was going on in individual scenes. I have never had that happen before.  With the movie, it brought everything to light and helped me make sense of the book that I had read 6 years ago.  This movie-turned-into-a-book made me realize just how much of a visual person I am.  I love books but I understand and comprehend things much easier, quicker and better with a movie.  This does not mean that I love the book any less; case in point, Divergent and The Hunger Games I love the books better than the movies. Those movies helped me put my imagination into practice and what my imagination thought was right on par with what the movie did.

With The Host, that was not the case. The Host movie took out much of the description and unnecessary plot lines that had made the book difficult to read and kept the action, adventure and suspense that made the book so enjoyable.  The chases through the big city and the anticipation of the meeting between the Hosts and the Resistance was intense.  It made me feel like I was right in the middle of the action.

Besides the action, the best part and the most intense were the interactions between Wanda/Melanie, Ian and Jared.  Jared is Melanie’s love while Ian becomes Wanda’s love and the interactions between the 3 of them get very interesting when the people of the resistance start to realize that Melanie is still alive inside.  That was the part of the movie that resonated with me the most.  It was exactly as I had pictured those scenes going when I read the book. The question of loving someone without the possibility of beauty and vain is an interesting point to the book/movie.  Ian fell in love with Wanda on personality and morals over beauty and physical appearance.  Jared on the other hand couldn’t love “Melanie” at first even though it was her body; her mind, personality and morals were nowhere to be heard.  Both men loved the women not just for their looks but for who they were as people.  

For some this movie will seem slow with not enough action or suspense.  I will disagree.  The book had the same feeling but once Meyer’s words were put on screen everything came together.  The world she weaved is intricate, messy, and nothing is black and white.  But that world isn’t action packed; it is emotionally packed that therein lies the suspense.  The movie brought all of the emotional heartbreak and frustration that Meyer wrote to the screen and was able to tug on your heartstrings even more.  Not sure how but they did and the movie was much better for it.

A must see for any romantic.