REVIEW: MONSTERS

My Rating:

Set in the near future, a NASA space probe returning to Earth crashes in northern Mexico, contaminating the area with alien life. The U.S. and Mexico government set up an ‘Infected Zone’ along the boarder to try and corral the alien life. Documenting the effects of the aliens to Central America, photographer Andrew Kaulder (Scoot McNairy), is forced to escort his boss’s daughter, Sam Wynden (Whitney Able) to America. When things go wrong, they must travel through the Infected Zone in order to make it to the American boarder. 

With such an interesting premise, I had high hopes for Monsters, but this movie fails to deliver. While watching this movie I could not help but be reminded of District 9 and Cloverfield. District 9 used aliens to tell a story of apartheid in Southern Africa. Monsters tries to do something similar in telling a story about illegal immigration on the U.S. – Mexico border. However, a weak script and less than stellar acting hold this movie back from being great. I never felt any emotional connection to the main characters, thanks in large part to poor performances from the lead characters. The writing didn’t help matters either, there was no sense of urgency, no reason for me to be afraid for these characters or care if they made it or not.

One thing I did enjoy was the sense of place the director was able to create with the use of road signs indicating the proximity to the Infected Zone, as well as the Jurassic Park style parameter fence along the southern side of the Infected Zone. They were nice touches that helped flesh out a world our characters and script were incapable of doing. Another thing I enjoyed was the way in which the director chose to show us the monsters, we never get to see it in full view (until the end); only quick glances through buildings or on fuzzy night vision News casts. However, can someone explain to me how a 200ft monster sneaks up on people (I’m looking at you Cloverfield)? It makes no sense, when you are that big you don’t need to hide or be sneaky, Godzilla had the right idea. But I digress…

So what are my final thoughts on Monsters? Well, I can let some of my grievances slide, knowing the movie was only made with a rumored $100,000 (Those of you expecting Avatar-like special effects, you will be disappointed). This was after all, a low budget indie film. Those of you who have been drinking too much of the Hollywood Kool-Aid will be disappointed, for the rest, you will be left wanting more.


Released: October 2010  

Length: 1 hr 32 min  

Directed by: Gareth Edwards  

Written by: Gareth Edwards  

Cast: Scoot McNairy, Whitney Able