{"id":10125,"date":"2010-12-03T03:33:14","date_gmt":"2010-12-03T03:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/?p=10125"},"modified":"2010-12-03T03:33:14","modified_gmt":"2010-12-03T03:33:14","slug":"monsters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/2010\/12\/03\/monsters\/","title":{"rendered":"Monsters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A low budget monster movie fused with a mumblecore romance is a refreshing change for the genre even if excitement is lost at the expense of mood.<\/p>\n

Set a few years after mysterious alien creatures have landed in Mexico, a photojournalist (Scoot McNairy) is ordered to escort his publisher\u2019s daughter (Whitney Able) to the safety of the US.<\/p>\n

However, due to various circumstances it becomes a difficult task as they venture through the \u2018infected zone\u2019, which contains various giant monsters which can harm humans and property.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Although it begins with a dramatic opening sequence, director Gareth Edwards<\/a> has opted to invert the traditional monster action movie with a greater focus on personal relationships, as creatures for part of the background atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Shot on a low budget and relying heavily on improvisation, the film paints a convincing picture of life during a social crisis, as the characters are forced to improvise and travel with a constant threat lurking in the background.<\/p>\n

Technically the film duplicates the look of much bigger budget rivals with clever use of digital cameras and also uses the landscapes of Guatemala, Mexico and Texas to full effect.<\/p>\n

A special effects professional<\/a>, Edwards utilises his skills to augment the natural landscapes with digitally created objects including helicopters, enormous barriers and various fantastical creatures.<\/p>\n

For the most part this creates a highly believable setting, further heightened by the naturalistic performances from his two leads and the non-actors who populate the supporting cast.<\/p>\n

McNairy and Able have a chemistry and a believable awkwardness which provides a solid foundation for what is essentially a road movie as they journey with bodyguards and mercenaries to the US border.<\/p>\n

Shot guerrilla-style, the film has an impressively convincing feel which stands out because it eschews many of the conventions of the monster movie, even though the setup has many similarities to Cloverfield<\/a> (2008) and District 9<\/a> (2009).<\/p>\n

It could be argued that it is too successful in sacrificing adrenaline for realism. Apart from a couple of sequences, especially the climax, audiences might be surprised at the lack of excitement on screen.<\/p>\n

More of a relationship movie than one might, for a film called Monsters there isn\u2019t actually a lot of monster action in it.<\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

This paradox means it lacks the traditional excitement of the genre, but it still has a unique flavour as a kind of mumblecore sci-fi drama and a clever, narrative twist should provide audiences with a talking point as they leave the cinema.<\/p>\n

Technically it punches well above its weight, with Edwards combining several roles with impressive aplomb: in addition to directing he also served as D.O.P and visual effects artist.<\/p>\n

But this is an accomplished film across the board: the effective use of sound, Colin Goudie\u2019s editing and an ambient electronic score by Jon Hopkins are also crucial in giving the film a convincing feel and atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Monsters is a striking debut and, although probably costlier more than some reports<\/a> have suggested, bodes well for Edwards’ future efforts as a director.<\/p>\n

> Official site<\/a>
\n> Monsters<\/a> at the IMDb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A low budget monster movie fused with a mumblecore romance is a refreshing change for the genre even if excitement is lost at the expense of mood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10127,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,5,8],"tags":[1713],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10125"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}