Review of Monsters (2010) by Tommy 'See The Treasure' S — 04 May 2014

Is it weird that having watched Monsters for a second time, I find Gareth Edwards to be a surprising choice to direct the upcoming Godzilla movie? Don't get me wrong though. I think he'll have done a great job and I'm very excited for that movie, but I'm unsure as to whether hardcore fans of the franchise (or monster movies in general for that matter) would savour anything along the lines of Monsters- a movie which is significantly more talky and less hectic than your average monster movie. This is an intriguing hybrid of indie character-driven drama and alien-invasion suspense. If Richard Linklater made a sci-fi/monster movie, it might end up something like this.

The northern half of Mexico is quarantined because of some strange extra-terrestrial life-form has spread across the US-Mexico border. The army monitors the area and battle the creatures, while an immense wall has been built across the border, presumably to protect America from the creature. Amidst the chaos, Andrew(Scott McMairy) and Samantha(Whitney Able) are a photojournalist and a publisher's daughter, trying their utmost to make their way across the border to America.

The movie was reportedly produced on a shoestring budget but you can tell that Edwards put every penny to good use. It's wonderfully shot and Edward's really captures the rough beauty of the Mexican landscape. Of course, there are moments of necessary CGI and when the representation of alien life forms is original and oddly awe-inspiring. They're not quite like any other aliens you've seen in the movies, which is an achievement in itself.

One of the most impressive things about Monsters is the sense of authenticity that Edwards creates. The movie starts at a point where people have clearly gotten used to the fact that there is an intergalactic threat close to the border of America and Mexico. The aliens are generally treated as no more spectacular than any other societal threat- a war, border control etc. Intended or not, the movie clearly carries some political dimension here. The dialogue between the characters feels very real and McNairy and Able have a sincere chemistry together. Some of their dialogue is interesting and some is a bit mundane, but most importantly it never feels anything less than real. Apart from the two main actors, the cast is made up of untrained locals, further adding to the realistic atmosphere.

Without giving anything away, I can't finish this review without saying that the ending of the movie is really something special. It's one of those endings that takes you by surprise and adds new, unforeseen significance to all that has gone before. It's not particularly suspenseful, but rather quite poignant and moving. It transcends plot contrivance and reaches for something altogether more powerful and ambitious. This is a really impressive debut from Gareth Edwards which proves you don't need a huge budget to create a genuinely smart and powerful sci-fi movie.