Monsters (12A)

Film

Gangster films

787monstersREV1

Time Out rating:

<strong>Rating: </strong>4/5

User ratings:

<strong>Rating: </strong>3/5
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Time Out says

Tue Nov 30 2010

It would be sad if the story of how British filmmaker Gareth Edwards created his captivating, micro-budget sci-fi film was to obscure its far greater achievement, being as it is a seamless blending of romance, road movie and monster flick. Shot guerrilla-style on location in Guatemala, Belize and Mexico – with two lead actors and local non-professionals improvising dialogue within a loose structure – ‘Monsters’ immerses the audience in a near-future world where the Mexican population has become blasé about the destruction wrought by giant, squid-like alien beings.

A few years after a Nasa space probe broke up on re-entry, a quarantined ‘infected zone’ stretches across Mexico to the US border – and it is through this zone that frustrated photojournalist Andrew Kaulder (Scoot McNairy) must escort his boss’s daughter, Sam (Whitney Able). This exhausting, epic journey involves trains, pick-up trucks, backhanders, boats, guards and ominous sounds from the jungle.

Desperate comparisons have been made with ‘District 9’ and ‘Cloverfield’ (not least by the film’s own marketing), but the digitally enhanced texture of the atmospheric ‘Monsters’ – with its weatherbeaten signs, barely glimpsed creatures and edgy encounters – evokes a sweaty, nervous reality rather than a clean, hard-edged artificiality. With the notable exception of the moving monster climax, the best scenes are the quiet, human ones, such as Kaulder flirting with Sam in a seedy hotel while scenes of monster mayhem are only glimpsed on a fuzzy black-and-white TV set. There’s an implicit political dimension too, with constant American bombing raids and a border wall designed to keep unwanted aliens out of the US.

Author: Nigel Floyd

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Release details

Rated:

12A

UK release:

Fri Dec 3 2010

Duration:

93 mins

Cast and crew

Director:

Gareth Edwards

Screenwriter:

Gareth Edwards

Cast:

Whitney Able, Scoot McNairy

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Comments & ratings

Rated as: 3/5 (16 ratings)

  • It was as boring as hell...never ended. No chemistry between the leads, not entertaining. Poor dialoge and bad direction...I would say in a nutshell: better to stay at home!

    Simon Tue Dec 14 2010
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  • It was horrifyingly boring, and i haven't been tempted to walk out of a film until this one. No characterisation, poor plot, lots of shots of "infected zone" poster, no substance. Avoid at all costs.

    joe Tue Dec 14 2010
    Rated as: 1/5
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  • Distinctive if not entirely satisfying genre mish-mash. But why is it that extra-terrestrials in movies so often have tentacles?

    critique Mon Dec 13 2010
    Rated as: 3/5
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  • Excellent film. The director manages to capture an atmosphere of tropical decay that works wonders. If you've ever been lucky enough to stand at the edge of tropical forest at dusk and had that foreboding 'what's around the corner of the path' feeling, this will get you by the guts, in a way that 'Predator' never managed. I've felt haunted by this film all week.

    Alan Pearson Sun Dec 12 2010
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  • A road movie but not a very good one. The leads are empty and the male character's behaviour often unconvincing. There’s a scene in the forbidden zone where a crashed plane is being dragged through a river by one of the aliens which reminded me rather of Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky Brothers. The acting here's ok, nothing wrong with it but the parts aren’t good. Couldn't work out if some point was being made but the leads’ moronic selfishness is quite off-putting by the end. No idea what the makers were thinking. If the film has a point, it must be a fairly nihilistic one because the film itself is visually-efficient but ‘uhmuman’. Was it really only 93 minutes? Felt like a couple of hours.

    Phil Ince Sat Dec 11 2010
    Rated as: 2/5
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  • In one word YAWN

    aaron barnes Thu Dec 9 2010
    Rated as: 2/5
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  • An astonishing achievement. Top 10 of the year quality. 8/10

    scrumpyjack Tue Dec 7 2010
    Rated as: 4/5
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  • very good

    jules Tue Dec 7 2010
    Rated as: 5/5
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  • Worthy of the hype. Great naturalistic performances and a satisfying visual and emotional journey. 9/10

    Evie Sat Dec 4 2010
    Rated as: 4/5
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  • It was really good. I had popcorn and nachos. I spilt some of my coke, but my boyfriend bought me another one. He loves me.

    Rachel Elizabeth Ryder Sat Dec 4 2010
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