Monsters

Also featured on the Taco Cart Productions site.

Of all the films that I’ve seen recently Monsters surprised me the most. The premise sounds exciting enough: NASA probe that went off into space to investigate signs of life returns to Earth, crash landing in Mexico, bringing with it alien life forms. The aliens spread which leads to the eventual quarantine of northern Mexico, the US builds a huge border wall to keep the aliens out and the military forces of both countries are routinely in action with the new inhabitants, be it in border skirmishes or air strikes in the ‘Infected Zone’. I pressed play and got ready for a thrill fest of explosions and heroics but that isn’t what this film is about at all.

The movie follows Samantha Wynden (Whitney Able), the daughter of a wealthy businessman and Andrew Kaulder (Scoot McNairy), a photographer employed by Samantha’s father. Ordered by Dad to escort Samantha safely back to the America, Kaulder reluctantly heads homeward with his new companion, inevitably forced to do so via the Infected Zone.

A little clumsy in parts, this is nonetheless a fantastic, super-low budget film by debutant British director, Gareth Edwards. I’m not sure of the exact budget, Wikipedia says below $500,000 and the IMDB says approximately $800,000, but whichever way you look at it, that’s a tiny amount of money by today’s standards.

The movie is slow paced, focusing less on the aliens - it’s a bit like Cloverfield in that you don’t see a lot of the monsters, although that’s about where the similarity ends - and more on Kaulder and Samantha and why they find themselves where they are.

Both Able and McNairy give great performances in that even when a scene seems a shade contrived they still come across as genuinely likeable characters. A large portion of the film is shot guerrilla style using people who aren’t professional actors as extras and incidental characters, giving an edgy, more realistic feel. The stunning wilderness of the Infected Zone is shot beautifully and the development of Kaulder and Samantha’s characters make this an intriguing film.

I don’t think Monsters is a movie for everyone but despite it not being anything like I expected, or indeed was in the mood for, I enjoyed it and it stayed with me when it finished. Certainly a recommend, if only so you can make up your own mind.

By Small Paul