Bong Joon-ho says he’s ready to film in a sewer again if a movie calls for it, 20 years after taking The Host’s cast and crew underground to make his monster movie.
“If there’s a scene that requires me to film in the sewer, I’m ready right now,” the Parasite director said while discussing The Host’s 20th anniversary.
Bong was 36 during production. A limited budget helped drive the decision to shoot on location, but he also wanted the film to reveal parts of the city people rarely see.
There was 1 important exception: the sewer scene involving the kidnapped girl was filmed on a set. The other scenes, he said, were shot on location.
The 2006 film follows a father, played by Song Kang-ho, trying to rescue his daughter, played by Ko A-sung, after a river monster takes her in Seoul. Its premise grew from Bong’s childhood fascination with the Loch Ness Monster and his imagining a similar creature in the Han River near his home.
Revisiting the film at a recent anniversary event, Bong watched it in full for the first time in 20 years. He recognized the “crazy energy” he’d brought to the production, including moving the camera around inside the sewers. That experience was far removed from making his 2025 film Mickey 17, which was shot mainly in a studio.
The screening also brought back memories of collaborators who’ve died. Byun Hee-bong, who played the family’s grandfather, died in 2023. Seeing him onscreen again stirred up emotions for Bong.
A remastered version of The Host returns to U.S. theaters on November 21 and November 23 for its 20th anniversary.
