After a lab assistant dumps toxic chemicals into South Korea’s Han River (up to this point based on a true incident), a giant squid monster starts terrorizing the riverside. That would be enough for most monster movies, but despite the terrific looking monster (utilizing some great CGI effects) this is really a story about the Park family, particularly the slovenly Park Gang-du (Kang-ho Song) whose daughter is kidnapped by the monster and brought to its rather disgusting lair. The quirky family relationship provides plenty of humor, but there’s also a surprising amount of drama to be rung from their frantic search, as they find themselves blocked in their quest by government officials. Director Joon-ho Bong is uniquely talented in bringing this oddly balanced, but constantly rewarding monster movie to the screen.