Tagline: Beware.
Curiosity: Absurdly cost efficient sci-fi film that Scott Muir told me to watch.
Plot: Six years ago, a NASA probe crash landed in Mexico, bringing with it a strange alien species that grows up to be like these giant Cthulu motherfuckers. They’re like octopi/elephant hybrids or some shit. It’s nuts. Mexico and Southwestern U.S.A. are lousy with ’em. During this mess, photographer Andrew (the impossibly named Scott McNairy) is shepherding Samantha (Whitney Able), the daughter of a wealthy businessman, home in exchange for credentials that would allow him to photography these majestic, pants-shittingly terrifying creatures.
They do SO MUCH WALKING.
Thoughts: The hullaballo behind Monsters is that it didn’t cost much to make. Like, slap-your-momma cheap. Reportedly, the budget was $15,000 American. And for every corner the film cuts – sets and extras shot without permission, a two-person cast, minimal interaction with the creatures, terrible voice acting – Monsters still comes out looking like a better film that any with a $100 million budget.
Granted, my appreciation is definitely tied to the budget – even Clerks cost more, and Kevin Smith made that movie with a couple of credit cards – but even without that information, Monsters is a compelling sci-fi study. The script isn’t terribly original, but filmmaker Gareth Edwards makes it work. The film dodges plenty of clichés – I won’t name them here to avoid spoilers – but for the most part, the film subverts a lot of expectations by simply telling a straightforward road movie that just so happens to feature Cthulu.
Reflection: Yo, so what do you think the ending means? …Is it a spoiler if I ask that question?
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