Review of Monsters (2010) by Mark N — 11 Apr 2012

Wow, just wow. This film was a magnificent achievement by Gareth Edwards and impressed me more then I ever expected. Taking the style of District 9 where living alongside aliens in a matter of fact style, coupled with a road movie, there were three main features in this film that would impress you. Or at least, it did for me, maybe not others.

The naturalistic relationship developing between Andrew and Samantha was well worked, helped by the fact that the two actors are married in real life and were allowed to ad-lib entire scenes. The conversations between the two were realistic and revealing at the same time.

Then you had the Aliens, who for the majority of the film you only saw little flashes of, tentacles mostly, and also heard in the background as they came closer. This was good, very Jaws-esque, and then when it was revealed, was as beautiful as any cinematic creature, Lord of the Rings-esque almost, stealing the movie in just one scene.

And finally, you had the natural surroundings of the country the protagonists walked through. Some of the scenery shots were amazing, completely amazing, especially considering the entire film was done on $500,000, as opposed to something like The Room, which cost $6 million. The entire film would be shot ad-libbed, then downloaded at the end of the day and edited, making it possibly the easiest photo shoot for this type of film Iâ(TM)ve ever heard. If you want to watch a magnificent film made with such minimal money, then make time for this one. Beautiful film.