'Monsters' - Movie Review

When most movie goers think of low budget science-fiction they probably think of the either flying saucers on strings in 1950s movies or the laughable efforts of the Syfy network such as "Sharktopus." Neither of these options have much appeal aside outside of a notion of cheap campy fun. 2010's "Monsters" completely defies the notion of what low budget sci-fi is, by being not only a serious and tightly made movie but also a visually impressive one as well. The film received only a limited release in theaters, but was a big hit at genre festivals around the country. Now it's out on DVD where all genre fans can enjoy this well made labor of love.

"Monsters" is set in the near future. Six years previous to the events of the film a probe that was sent to collect possible signs of extraterrestrial life within our own solar system crash landed on it's return to Earth. Shortly after that the "creatures" started to appear. At this point there is a cordoned off area at the Mexican American border known as the "Infected Zone" where the creatures essentially run free. The US military does all it can to keep the large monsters contained but they sometimes manage to attack Mexican towns (they don't get into American due to a massive wall on the border.) In Mexico a photographer named Andrew (Scoot McNairy) is trying to get photographs of the creatures and the damage they continue to do. However he receives notice that his employer's daughter, Samantha (Whitney Able,) was in a hotel that was attacked and he's told to ensure her safe return to America. Not particularly thrilled with the assignment, Andrew does what he can to make sure Samantha gets home. Unfortunately it soon becomes clear that unless they want to spend the next three months stuck in Mexico the only option is to travel through the Infected Zone.

If there's a phrase to describe "Monsters" it's probably low key. The movie plays very much to it's minuscule budget by forgoing what most other alien creature movies would focus on: the arrival. By setting the film some time after the alien arrival it allows for a wholly different vibe to come into play. This isn't about humanity's desperate struggle against alien foes. It's about when the aliens have been here long enough that they've just become part of the routine. The aliens are still dangerous, humans are still fighting to stop their spread but the impact of their arrival is gone, now it's just like any drawn out conflict. In fact, with the exception of certain moments at the end, the creatures could be swapped out for any number of real world conflicts (such as the war on terror, a gorilla drug war or a long winded rebellion) and the film would be virtually unaffected. The interactions between the two leads are fairly low key as well, with everything played very naturalistic rather than having big overblown dramatic moments.

The biggest thing that "Monsters" has going for it is probably the writer/director Gareth Edwards. This was his first feature and he showed and extreme dedication to the project. Since the two leads were the only actual actors, the rest were just local people he found willing to be in it, scenes were largely improvised. This meant that at the end of shooting Edwards had nearly 100 hours of unique footage, almost none of it being multiple takes of the same scenes. He edited this massive amount of footage down and personally did all of the special effects himself using readily available software. The result is a movie that cost about $500,000 but looks like a $10 million production. Edwards also seems to have had an extremely firm grasp of what kind of movie he actually was making. He knew enough not to put too much focus on the creatures. But more importantly he also understood that while his leads weren't lifeless they wouldn't carry a film on their own without the threat of the creatures. As a result Edwards find the perfect balance of atmospheric tension and character moments, and his work is heavily assisted by the soundtrack music of Jon Hopkins.

"Monsters" doesn't re-invent the genre but it does show what a dedicated filmmaker who knows what he's doing is capable of. The film takes an uncommon approach to an alien invasion scenario and plays to its strengths. There isn't much spectacle in the film, so it's not a surprise that it didn't get a wider release. Mainstream audiences expect big explosions from their alien movies. While it doesn't fit that mold this is a film that deserves to be seen by any sci-fi who's open to something different. Edwards is already reaping the rewards of his hard work, as he's now been hired to direct the new re-imagining of the most famous monster of all: Godzilla. Hopes are already running high for what this new talent will bring to that franchise.

Final Score: 4 out of 5