Twihards unite!
Later this month, the movie adaptation of “The Host,” a sci-fi love story brought to us by the author of the “Twilight Saga” will debut in a theater near you.
Stephenie Meyer, the woman behind the most talked about love triangle of the last decade (are you Team Jacob or Team Edward?) wrote “The Host” as her first stand alone novel for an adult audience shortly after wrapping up her epically popular vampire tale.
Now, movie-makers are hoping to capitalize on this wild popularity by transforming the novel into the next paranormal blockbuster. If Meyer’s almost cult-like following of fans has anything to say about it, it may prove to be just that.
“The Host” takes place in a post-invasion world, in which most of the human population has been taken over by aliens known as “souls” who inhabit a host human’s body and control its thoughts and actions.
The remaining untainted people live in hidden colonies, as a sort of resistance, preserving their autonomy, and plotting to take back the planet.
Enter Melanie and Wanderer. Melanie, one of the humans that had been living in hiding, is captured, and becomes a host for the alien soul, Wanderer. While we have been preconditioned to dislike these alien invaders, the relationship between this host and soul is different than any other.
Determined to remain in control of her own thoughts, and to protect those whom she loves, Melanie refuses to relinquish her mind and allow her body’s new inhabitant to take over.
Over time, Melanie’s thoughts begin to influence Wanderer (dubbed Wanda for short), and she finds herself caring about the people that Melanie cares about, causing the
two to begin working together to find their way back to them.
The unforeseen side-effect of this is that both women begin to have feelings for the same man, creating a whole new love triangle to obsess over – and possibly the first one that only involves two bodies
Putting aside the awkward logistics of two minds sharing one body (I’m thinking Siamese twins minus the extra appendages), “The Host” is a story of perseverance that examines not only what precisely it is that defines humanity, but also the lengths that we will go to for love.
Additionally, the story shines a light on the fact that what’s right is not always what’s easy, and sometimes doing what’s right means sacrificing our own well-being.
With that being said, it’s not all touchy-feely. There is plenty of alien-fighting action to go around, and according to the advance reviews for the movie, the producers have used CGI animation to showcase the violence in full effect.
While edgier than the “Twilight” stories, “The Host” still preserves the squeaky-clean-by-today’s-standards type of romance that the conservative Meyer has become known for. I will forewarn you, however, that the movie version has received a parental advisory for both violence and adult language, so if you are planning to bring your “Twilight” obsessed pre-teen, it might be a good idea to have your own advance screening first.
Only time will tell if “The Host” will become the next wildly popular film franchise, or whether sequels one, two, and three are on the horizon. For now, before hitting that midnight premiere to see for yourself, you can pick up a paperback, and begin to form your own opinion.
After all, the next big question on the pop culture horizon might very well be “Team Melanie or Team Wanda?”
