The Host

[Warning: Spoilers]

Based on the Stephanie Meyer novel of the same name, The Host tells the story of a future in which an alien species, having conquered (or perhaps the better word is re-colonized) most other planets, have come to earth. These aliens, called Souls, are unique in that they need a host body, since their form is like a large, silvery centipede, but almost more fluid. The main characters in the story are Melanie, a girl who fought to escape the invasion, and Wanderer, the alien who is placed in her body. Melanie is strong and she fights to stay alive and to get back control of her own body. The girls (Wanderer and Melanie) fight, but ultimately learn to get along.

Once Melanie is taken, the Souls attempt to use Wanderer to locate the rebel community of humans to which Mel belonged. However, Wanderer (aka Wanda) runs away to join the people, who she knows to be the only real family she or Mel might have.

The Souls continue to hunt her and the hidden society of rebels, and matters become complicated as everyone there learns to deal with Mel's body being possessed by a Soul. Mel's brother and Uncle are hopeful that she is still fighting inside, and they also learn to accept Wanda. Mel's boyfriend Jared is angry and distrustful, but becomes interested in the girls, though mostly because she is still Mel...well, sort of Mel.

This, Mel gets angry when Wanda becomes involved with another guy, Ian. Ian loves Wanda, not Melanie or Melanie's body, but without Mel, Wanda would not survive.

In the end, the humans are safe, and both species learn to accept the other, realizing that neither is as bad as they believe, and they can get along. Mel and Wanda become good friends, and Wanda is able to have her own body, thanks to her friends. This happens even though Wanda requests that they send her away to the other Souls, or possibly let her die, in order to free Mel.

This movie has some great messages about humanity, as a whole and on an individual level. It shows survival, judgement, fear, love, and how intense and complex they can make life-or-death situations. It points out the goodness in humanity, but also the will of humanity to survive. And it gives aliens a far more human character than most sci-fi stories I know of. Think about it, even Star Trek made Spock half human in order to make him more like the other people and less like the other aliens.

There were so many parts of the book that either couldn't be captured on f ion or were left out, most likely for the sake of simplicity and time. The book introduces far more of the characters in the rebel hideout, along with their relationships and their flaws. I remember portions of the book involving Wes and Lily, and their relationship. If I am correct, Wes was actually one of Wanda's closest friends. That's why it is so sad when the Seekers kill him. In the movie his name is never mentioned until that moment and it's not very emotional, especially since the scene is so brief.

The novel also has a lot more conflict between the girls, as well as between their love interests. At times in the book, I remember hating Mel for how stubborn or cruel she could be, but the movie never pushed it that far. I assume this was done to make sure that you would be happy with what happened to all of the characters at the end. I also remember Wanda struggling with the fact that she loved both men, even though she knew that she really only loved Jared because Mel did.

I could go on, but you get the point. It is always hard to watch a book adaptation on film because it is rarely done accurately. Directors and writers have their own visions, and the medium and time constraints restrict what can be shown or heard. Books have narration, but movies seldom do, and that makes it harder to relate to the characters and understand their points of view. Nonetheless, this movie captured the heart of the story, and that is the only thing that matters at the end of the day. The actors may not even be what we pictured for these characters, and the plot might have been missing some key points, but they brought the book to life as best they could, and I loved it.