Monsters review

by Luke Jones.

A lot has been said about Monsters and it's shoe-string budget. Yes, it may have been made for the equivalent of Harrison Ford's make-up bill on Indiana Jones 4, but to focus purely on the figures would be a disservice to the movie. Not only is Monsters an interesting spin on the monster film, it is also story-telling of the highest calibre and features the most affecting romance of 2010.

Monsters begins where most creature invasion movies end. The battle is over, but the war has just begun. Director Gareth Edwards has likened his movie to the current situation in Afghanistan, a war that has gone on for so long that the public have just stopped caring. Taking place six years after a crashed space probe brings alien life to South America, the extra-terrestrials are now contained in an 'infected zone' to the north of Mexico, with a gargantuan wall running along the US border. Working in Mexico, photographer Andrew Kaulder is given the job of escorting his boss's daughter back to the safety of the US, a journey that will take them right to the heart of the restricted area.

Shooting guerilla style with only a two man film crew, Edwards shot the entire movie on location, improvising the movie around a rough plot and using whatever facilities were available. The result is a road movie that feels like a highly polished documentary, filming a whole new world awash with detail. News networks stream 24 hour coverage of the aliens, while rival channels use them as cuddly monsters in children’s TV. Signs warn of dangerous extra-terrestrials. Ferries to reach North America cost $5000, as long as you know the right people. It is a fully realised vision of what life could be like after a major invasion, but really it acts as background for the real thrust of the movie: the relationship between photographer Kaulder and daddy’s girl Samantha Wynden.

With a whole movie hanging upon them, lead actors Scott McNairy and Whitney Able fully convince in their developing friendship (it shows that they were a couple, now married, when making the film). While it is clear from the start where their relationship is heading, development comes from mutual understanding and respect rather than the irritating 'opposites attract' bickering of the average Jennifer Aniston flick. A single look can speak volumes, with dialogue stripped of the usual B-movie cliches that riddle the genre. It's like someone watched Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise and felt that it needed more Jurassic Park. Or vice versa.

This highly stripped back approach extends to the rest of the cast too, made up of people who happened to be hanging around when filming took place. While not performances in the traditional sense of the word, they are nevertheless entirely natural and add to the cohesion of the film. Then there is Mexico, a character in itself, popping out of the screen more vividly than any 3D film could manage. It is in the quieter scenes with just the leads and the full beauty of Mexico that the film really shines, a brief interlude on top of an ancient temple being one of many high points.

Of course with a title like Monsters you would hope that there are a few on screen, and remarkably Edwards doesn’t shy away from revealing them in their full glory. From the opening scene, a Cloverfield-a-like shaky cam military attack, to the final stunning moments the aliens manage to be both graceful and terrifying at once, wild animals rather than malicious antagonists. While the effects show their relative simplicity in brighter scenes, they are for the most part equal of any multi-million dollar blockbuster, and with any justice should at least receive a nomination at the Oscars next year.

With Inception proving earlier this year that big budgets don’t need to get in the way of intelligent sci-fi, Monsters shows the opposite: that a small amount of money really can go a long way. Gareth Edwards has crafted a beautiful little gem of a film, that deserves to be the sleeper hit of the Winter.