Stephanie Meyers is most famously known for her vampire saga, “Twilight.” But before the four-part series finished its multiple debuts onto the New York Times Bestsellers list, her novel “The Host” was racking up its own sea of fans.
After all the hype of “Twilight” finally wore down, it was time for “The Host” to hit the big screen. But, after all these years of waiting, did the movie meet the anticipated reaction readers were hoping for?
“The Host,” originally published in May 2008, is a science fiction/romance story set in the future where Earth as we know it is long gone. “Souls,” as they’re called in the novel, have come to take over in hopes of returning peace and tranquility to the planet.
The story itself revolves around a soul named Wanderer who is implanted into the host body (human body) of a girl named Melanie, who was one of the few humans still not overtaken by the aliens. Melanie’s presence grows stronger as the novel progresses; this is not supposed to happen, and she leads Wanderer on a journey in hopes of finding the ones she had risked her life for, praying that they’re still alive.
Needless to say, the book was complicated and took about the first 100 pages to explain what exactly differentiated hosts from humans, souls, and seekers. The movie merely brushed over this, and if you hadn’t read the book prior to the movie, there’s a good chance you were a bit confused throughout the film.
“Had I not read the book I would not have had as well as an understanding of what the movie was even prefacing,” sophomore Gabrielle Koehnlein said. “Besides, understanding what is going on is pretty important in terms of knowing why [the aliens are] invading, because that’s the basis of the whole book.”
Another thing that was a downfall on the director’s part was the sound control between Melanie and Wanderer. Melanie is supposed to be inside Wanderer’s head, telling her what to do and where to go, but that is much easier read than done. When Melanie first speaks to Wanderer in the movie, it makes most of the people in theater jump out of their seats because the voice is overpowering.
The movie wasn’t all bad, though. The set and scenes were fantastic, and there wasn’t anything the screenwriters missed in terms of broad concepts and ideas. Trying to squeeze a 600-page book into less than three hours is a challenge, and they did not leave anything too important out.
“I thought the movie was great; I read the book awhile ago and loved it then,” sophomore Leah Hantz said. “Although I wish they showed more of the animosity between some of the characters, because it was much more prevalent in the book than the movie portrayed.”
“The Host” itself is a nice overview of the book, and keeps you at the edge of your seat. But, if the choice between the book or the movie had to be made, the book would definitely win.
