Review: ‘MONSTERS’

A lot has been written about the making of this much hyped creature feature.  The director, Gareth Edwards, shot, edited, and created the special effects all on a laptop for a budget of $15,000.  Based on that fact alone, the film is impressive.  How can one make a monster movie for that little amount?  Well … the film is a different type of beast than just a monster on the rampage film.  If you go into it thinking you are going to get a cross between Cloverfield and District 9, which the trailers so far have shown, you will be disappointed.  This is not to say this is an entirely bad film.  In fact, Monsters is quite an interesting film, if one you might not expect.

Read on for more of the review…

Monsters is set 6 years after a NASA research probe crash lands from space near the Mexican/ U.S. border.  As a result of the crash, a new species inhabits the area causing both governments to quarantine the area off.  Andrew is a photojournalist who is in Mexico covering how people are handling the situation when he receives a call from his boss.  His new assignment is to find and escort Samantha (the boss’ daughter) safely back to the U.S.  On this journey, the two must cross through the “Infected Zone” (cleverly shown on maps throughout the movie) which is the holding ground for giant squid-like monsters (think H.P. Lovecraft).  Before you yell at me for revealing the look of the creatures, it takes all of two minutes for the big reveal.  Like I said, this film is not trying to be like Cloverfield.

How I would best describe the film is a “travelogue of the apocalypse.”  The film is filled with shots of desolate neighborhoods, dilapidated buildings, and debris from carnage all set against the jungles of central Mexico.  Each scene is filled with little details of destruction that make the environments that the characters are traveling through feel that much more threatening.  It is an amazing looking film.  Unfortunately not more of these scenes were filled with the cool creatures.  Given the title is Monsters, I simply assumed you would get more than 15 minutes of screen time with these tentacled giants.  Instead, the film focuses more on the growing friendship between the two likable characters (played very well by both actors).  While watching the film, I couldn’t help but think of Lost in Translation and Easy Rider.  The film is not about the monsters; it is about the journey.  It is about how we as humans react with one another in the moments after a disaster.  Throughout the film, the two encounter many people that they are forced to trust in order to survive, though their instincts tell them not to.  Even with the final scene, you can’t help but think that this film is about reaching out to one another amid the horrors of life.  Gareth Andrews set out to make a sci-fi/ horror film that was socially relevant for the post Hurricane Katrina and post 9/11 audience.  Did he succeed in making an exciting monster movie?  Uh … at times (yet few and far between).  Did he succeed in capturing the experience of two individuals who are forced under dire circumstances to accept this new horrible life?  Yes, he did.  While not wholly satisfying on a horror level, Monsters is a visually striking film that mirrors the real horrors we encounter in life.

Monsters will be available ON DEMAND courtesy of Magnolia Pictures on September 24, 2010 and in select theatres starting October 29, 2010.

Website: MONSTERS Official Page