The Host
After the success of The Twilight Saga, it came as no surprise to see Stephenie Meyer's novel The Host snapped up to be made into a movie.
The Host hit the big screen earlier this year but failed to win over audiences or set the box office alight. Sadly, it has made it on to our Worst Films of 2013 list at number seven.
The Host is a story about the survival of love and the human spirit in a time of war. Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy.
Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact. Most of humanity has succumbed.
The main problem that faced The Twilight Saga, is books where very little happens don't make fantastic movies; they may read well, but on screen they really will bore you into submission.
And that is exactly the problem that faces The Host, as it is dull as dishwater NOTHING happens during the 2hr six minute run time.
Moreover, this is a story where two minds and two voices inhabit one body, and portraying that on screen just hasn't been achieved.
On the page, the struggle between Melanie and Wanderer reads well but on the big screen a voice over has to be used to be able to hear both characters and it really doesn't work.
The dialogue between the pair is rather clunky and it just doesn’t play well at all - which is a shame as this is a major part of the story.
However, the film's major flaw is that it is just not very interesting. The story is flat and uneventful, and the characters just haven't been developed in a way where you care about them.
The first rule of filmmaking is to engage with your audience, and right from the word go The Host fails to achieve this.
A super talented cast - led by the fantastic Saoirse Ronan - have been assembled for the film, but no one is given anything to truly get their teeth into and develop into interesting characters. It is really sad when you see such a great line-up go to total waste.
The moral to the story is, don't just adapt books that have a large and loyal following in the hope of making a bit of cash at the box office.