Gwoemul (2006)

Director:

Joon-ho Bong

Writers:

Chul-hyun Baek (writer)
Joon-ho Bong (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

27 July 2006 (South Korea)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

It is Lurking Behind You

Plot:

A monster emerges from Seoul's Han River and focuses its attention on attacking people.

Plot Keywords:

River | Monster | Daughter | Archery | Panic

Awards:

18 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Kang-ho Song	...	Park Gang-Du
Hie-bong Byeon	...	Park Hie-bong
Hae-il Park	...	Park Nam-il
Du-na Bae	...	Park Nam-Joo
Ah-sung Ko	...	Park Hyun-seo
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Joseph Anselmo	...	Donald
Martin Lord Cayce	...	U.S. Senator
Cristen Cho
Philip Hersh	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Paul Lazar	...	US Doctor trying to operate Gang-Du
Brian Lee
Kurt Leitner	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Clinton Morgan	...	Agent Yellow
Dal-su Oh	...	The Monster (voice)
No-shik Park
Brian Rhee	...	Young Korean Doctor (as Brian Lee)
Scott Wilson	...	US Doctor in Morgue
Pil-Sung Yim	...	Fat Guevara

Directed by
Joon-ho Bong

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Chul-hyun Baek		writer
Joon-ho Bong		writer
Won-jun Ha		writer (as Jun-won Ha)

Produced by
Yong-bae Choi	....	producer
Junyoung Jang	....	co-producer
Neung-yeon Joh	....	producer
Lewis Kim	....	co-producer
Woo-Taek Kim	....	executive producer
Jeong Tae-Sung	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Byung-woo Lee

Cinematography by
Hyung-ku Kim

Film Editing by
Sun-min Kim

Casting by
John Jackson

Production Design by
Seong-hie Ryu

Sound Department
Coll Anderson	....	sound designer
Tae-young Choi	....	sound
Sean Garnhart	....	sound designer
Yasuaki Nakajima	....	adr supervisor
Rob Nokes	....	additional sound effects
Bill Orrico	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Julie Anderson	....	project coordinator
Toby Barron	....	painter
Toby Barron	....	sculptor
Brett Beacham	....	foam latex fabricator
Brett Beacham	....	mold maker
Janine Bray	....	hair technician
Teisha Brook	....	project coordinator
John Cox	....	animatronics supervisor: John Cox's creature Workshop
Liam Hardy	....	painter
Liam Hardy	....	sculptor
Josh Head	....	foam latex fabricator
Josh Head	....	mold maker
Tobias Jahke	....	foam latex fabricator
Tobias Jahke	....	mold maker
Heui-cheol Jang	....	special creature effects
Richard Mueck	....	painter
Richard Mueck	....	sculptor
Cheryl Newton	....	hair technician
Steven Parker	....	painter
Steven Parker	....	sculptor
James Paul	....	animatronics
James Paul	....	on-set technician
David Renn	....	painter
David Renn	....	sculptor
Steven Renn	....	animatronics
Mark Sloane	....	animatronics
Sonny Tilders	....	animatronics

Visual Effects by
Christopher Abeyta	....	production accountant
Shadi Almassizadeh	....	computer graphics supervisor
Lindsay Anderson	....	rotoscope artist
Robert Barker	....	systems engineer
Kirstin Bradfield	....	compositor
Juan Bronson	....	visual effects coordinator
Daniela Calafatello	....	modeler
Francis L. Camacho	....	matchmove artist (as Francis Camacho)
Josh Cardenas	....	digital artist (as Joshua Cardenas)
Carrie Cassada	....	visual effects editor
Irfan Celik	....	lead look development artist
Wei Chin Chen	....	matchmove artist
Jeremy Cho	....	lead 2D paint artist
Jeremy Cho	....	lead roto artist
YouJin Choung	....	compositor (as Youjin Cheung)
Brendan Coffey	....	information technology director
Webster Colcord	....	animation supervisor
Kathleen Cosby	....	digital artist
Kevin Coyle	....	rotoscope artist
Stéphane Cros	....	creature rigger
Rif Dagher	....	lead digital artist (as Rifaat Dagher)
Bruce Dahl	....	animator
Joe C. D'Amato	....	support
Pallavi Devabhaktuni	....	digital paint and rotoscope artist: The Orphanage
Tim Dobbert	....	matchmove supervisor
Andi Dorfan	....	rotoscope artist
Rama Dunayevich	....	publicist: The Orphanage
Greg Dunn	....	systems engineer
Greg Durrett	....	matchmove artist
Trina Espinoza	....	digital artist
Katharine Evans	....	rotoscope artist
Simon Eves	....	software development
Nathan Fariss	....	lead digital artist
Jesse Fernley	....	compositor
Arin Finger	....	visual effects producer
Sharon Fitzgerald	....	recruiter
Kate Geaghan	....	support
David Gladstein	....	software development
Daniel Gloates	....	senior staff: The Orphanage
Juli Gumbiner	....	manager of support and resource admin
Mark Hamilton	....	digital artist
Tyler Ham	....	matchmove artist
Jonathan Harman	....	senior technical director
Marianne Heath	....	rotoscope artist
Paul Hettler	....	senior visual effects producer
Ki Jong Hong	....	creature rigger
Sunghwan Hong	....	rotoscope artist
Kevin Hoppe	....	matchmover: The Orphanage
Jessica Hsieh	....	rotoscope artist
Tony Hurd	....	production operations manager
Michael Hutchinson	....	visual effects assistant editor
Michael Janov	....	lead digital artist
Steve Jaworski	....	lead compositor
Karen Kelly	....	visual effects coordinator
Brook Kievit	....	modeler
Kelly Kim	....	visual effects coordinator
Seryong Kim	....	visual effects consultant
SeungJang 'Jack' Kim	....	modeler
Makoto Koyama	....	animator
Scott Kravitz	....	animator
Heath Kraynak	....	rotoscope artist
Michal Kriukow	....	digital artist
Brian Kulig	....	CG sequence supervisor
Brian Kulig	....	pipeline software developer
Jessica Lai	....	matchmove artist
David Huynh Lam	....	resource technical assistant (as David Lam)
Jeon-hyeong Lee	....	visual effects
Soyoun Lee	....	rotoscope artist
Michael Lester	....	matchmove artist
Jimmy Lillard	....	visual effects assistant editor
Kymber Lim	....	visual effects consultant
Todd Lindo	....	manager of support and resource admin
Daniel Loeb	....	animator
Ting Lo	....	matchmoving artist (as Tiffany Lo)
Jonathan Lyons	....	animator
Kevin Mains	....	resource technical assistant
Stuart T. Maschwitz	....	senior staff: The Orphanage (as Stu Maschwitz)
Kyle McCulloch	....	compositor
Dan McNamara	....	senior staff: The Orphanage
Neil Michka	....	lead animator
Matt Moses	....	digital artist
Ross Nakamura	....	roto/paint artist: The Orphanage
Natalie Nolan	....	compositor
Luke O'Byrne	....	visual effects executive producer
Michael Oregon	....	support
Alex Orzulak	....	resource technical assistant
JaeWook Park	....	digital artist
David Parsons	....	animator
Christopher Paul	....	matchmove artist
David Petry	....	matchmove artist
Alexander Pouchkarev	....	modeler (as Sasha Pouchkarev)
Alex Prichard	....	lead compositor
Ralph Procida	....	digital artist
Kevin Rafferty	....	visual effects supervisor
Nina Rappaport	....	visual effects consultant
Dav Rauch	....	compositor
Aaron Rhodes	....	rotoscope supervisor
Grover Richardson	....	rotoscope artist
Corey Rosen	....	creature supervisor
Jonathan Rothbart	....	visual effects supervising consultant: The Orphanage
Salvador Ruiz	....	animator: The Orphanage
Jesse Russell	....	compositor
Marc Sadeghi	....	executive visual effects producer
Moshe Sayada	....	compositor
Joe Scarr	....	digital artist
Andrew Schneider	....	lead animator
Charles Schwartz	....	matchmove artist (as Charlie Schwartz)
Stan Seo	....	modeler
Nick Sinnott	....	matchmove artist
Carsten Sørensen	....	senior staff: The Orphanage
Michael Spaw	....	CG sequence supervisor
David Stern-Gottfried	....	resource technical assistant
Scott Stewart	....	senior staff: The Orphanage
Lisa Todd	....	visual effects digital production manager
Brian Tolle	....	matchmove lead
Jan Van Buyten	....	animator
Brent Villalobos	....	software development
Carl Walters	....	editorial supervisor
Renee Ward	....	visual effects production assistant
Ken Wesley	....	digital artist
Mary Beth Worzella	....	visual effects digital production manager (as Mary Beth)
Tiffany Wu	....	matchmove/roto coordinator
Jeremy Yabrow	....	software development manager
Andrea Yelle	....	human resources
Danyo Donghyun Yoon	....	pre-visualization artist

Other crew
Daniel Carlisle	....	puppeteer
Wonjo Jeong	....	production coordinator: New Zealand
Phillip Millar	....	puppeteer
Richard Mueck	....	puppeteer
James Paul	....	puppeteer

Production Companies

• Chungeorahm Film
• Showbox Entertainment

Distributors

• A-Film Distribution (2006) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (2007) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution (2007) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2007) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Camera Film (2007) (Denmark) (theatrical)
• Filmtrade (2007) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Gussi Films (2007) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Indo Overseas Film (2006) (India) (theatrical)
• Kadokawa Herald Pictures (2006) (Japan) (theatrical)
• MFA Filmdistribution (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Madman Entertainment (2007) (New Zealand) (theatrical)
• Magnolia Pictures (2007) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• MegaVision (2007) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Nippon Herald Films (2007) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Océan Films (2007) (France) (theatrical)
• Optimum Releasing (2006) (UK) (theatrical)
• Suraya Film Productions (2006) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Atlantic Film (2007) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Bir Film (2006) (Turkey) (all media)
• Future Film (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• Group Power (2006) (Taiwan) (all media)
• Happinet Corporation (2007) (Japan) (DVD)
• Magnolia Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Magnolia Magnet (2008) (USA) (all media)
• Notro Films (2006) (Spain) (all media)
• Optimum Releasing (2007) (UK) (DVD)
• Punto Zero (2009) (Italy) (all media) (as Enjoy Movies)
• Showbox Entertainment (2006) (South Korea) (all media)

Special Effects

• Orphanage, The (visual effects and animation)
• E.O.N. (computer graphics) (as EON Digital Film)
• Eon Digital Films (computer graphics)
• John Cox's Creature Workshop
• Weta Workshop (creature scannable maquette molding and casting)

Other Companies

• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• HFR  digital imaging (as Digital Cinema)
• HFR  digital intermediate
• Happinet Corporation  special thanks
• Magno Sound and Video  adr studio
• Milan Records  soundtrack
• Sound Dogs  additional audio (as Sounddogs.com)
• Soundtrack  trailer

Also Known As:

The Host (International: English title) (UK) (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for creature violence and language.

Runtime:

119 min | Croatia:110 min (DVD)

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Singapore:PG | Hong Kong:IIA | UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Malaysia:U | New Zealand:R13 | USA:R | Germany:16 | Australia:M | Sweden:11 | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:16 | Norway:15 | Netherlands:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Philippines:PG-13 | France:U (with warning) | Brazil:14 | Peru:14 | Mexico:B15 | Canada:14+

Filming Locations:

Dong-ho Bridge, Seoul, South Korea

Company:

Chungeorahm Film

Trivia:

The computer graphics of the creature were done by Orphanage Inc.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Kang-ho Song's character receives a tissue sample, there is no wound in the remaining scenes, even though he was screaming in pain.

Quotes:

US Doctor in Morgue: Mr. Kim,
[running a finger along the counter]
US Doctor in Morgue: I hate dust more than anything.
Young Korean Doctor: Oh, I will clean again.
US Doctor in Morgue: You don't have to clean up now. Why don't you dump this first?
Young Korean Doctor: That's formaline.
US Doctor in Morgue: Formaldehyde, to be precise. To be even more precise, dirty formaldehyde. Every bottle is coated with layers of dust. Pour 'em into the sink.
Young Korean Doctor: Excuse me?
US Doctor in Morgue: Just empty every bottle to the very last drop.
Young Korean Doctor: It's just - They are toxic chemicals, and the regulations state -
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2007-03-10)" (2007)

Excellent monster movie

This is a movie which will go straight into "best monster movies" lists; it is ground-breaking in the way humorous and horror content has been intertwined by a master film director. It was the closing film, shown last night (July 30) in the Auckland International Film Festival. There was a packed house of which about 60% were Korean people living in New Zealand. The audience was very attentive and the reception given to the movie was justly big applause. The animatronic effects have been done scrupulously well and viewers can look forward to being enthralled by the skills of those who "made the monster". We got the print which had come straight from Cannes and apparently the film opened just two days before we saw it in Auckland. There is no doubt that this movie will go on to do very big business wherever people appreciate great horror films. My inclination to rate it 10/10 was tempered only by a little doubt about the pacing of some sequences, but it is certainly worth 9/10. Look out for when it comes to a theater near you.