“Monsters” (2010)
Gareth Edwards incredible cinematic debut.
After originally stumbling upon a brief review of Gareth Edward’s debut feature film listening to a podcast over a decade ago, I watched this on the cinema screen as soon as it arrived in my home town, penned the review you’re about to read, and I’ve followed the cinematic fortunes of the director ever since. As you may also wish to read below, I’ve also written a similarly spoiler free treatise on his second film, a behemoth in every sense in Godzilla, before, and in only his third outing in the director’s chair remember, he then helmed Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in 2016. Although plot details are “under wraps” according to my cinematic bible of choice at www.imdb.com next year will see Gareth’s fourth big screen cinematic release, and the first in seven years, entitled True Love starring John David Washington.
I have a “thing” for debut films, sporting achievements or pieces of music and albums, and I sincerely classify Gareth Edwards’ cinematic debut here as one of the very best. If you too have stumbled upon my review as I did all those years ago and are perhaps expecting to read a (spoiler free) review of a monster film, you may be pleasantly surprised as this debut film plays against type as well as its title. A quiet and reflective film in many ways and with many subtexts that I hint at below, this is a stellar debut film from the English born filmmaker.
“I don’t want to go home”
Reputedly costing under £500,000 to make with improvised dialogue from non-actors in impromptu scenes and special effects that were entirely devised and created in the bedroom of the Director, Monsters is the archetypal low budget film made good. As well as directing this low budget masterpiece, Gareth Edwards also wrote the screenplay, acted as his own Director of Photography, Production Designer and Visual Effects Supervisor and in the process, created a gem of a film. Dark and subliminal yet in spite of it’s imposing title, Monsters is in the main a surprisingly quiet and reflective film that plays against both it’s simple title and the monster movie genre, being more of a science fiction thriller than a horrifying monster film.
Despite the film’s title, Monsters is not ostensibly a film actually about monsters and aside from two particular scenes in near pitch black darkness it’s also not an especially scary or horrifying film, but this is not to decry or criticise the film in any way. Twisting a rather bad analogy the monsters themselves or “The Creatures” as they are more commonly known, are rather like the world’s most unruly children, heard rather than seen as they wreck their devastation on a monumental scale from city to city in the “infected zone” which splits the border between the United States of America and Mexico.
Monsters is rather a film of the shocking aftermath following a huge catastrophe and this is alluded to in the film’s opening prologue as it details a NASA mission six years ago that went awry, scattering alien samples across a vast swathe of the USA/Mexico landmass. Cleverly, director Edwards uses their haunting sounds, cries of anguish and calls for their fellow aliens as well as using constant television news coverage of the creatures to reinforce the threat posed rather than out and out, full blown shots of the aliens, which when seen are reminiscent of the Martians of War of the Worlds but always just out of real and crystal clear focus. The unseen danger though is ever present but again cleverly, the film’s real focus is on the overt military presence and response to the emergency situation, with border checkpoints and soldiers on every street, tanks and armaments on stand by to deal with the on going threat as well as fighter jets making regular sorties across the sky.
Monsters is an after the event film and a tale of life continuing as normal amid the utter devastation wrought by this unseen and seemingly uncontrollable force and rather than a clichéd “monster movie” it is in fact an ode to children and family, of familial life continuing and adapting to the worst possible scenario surrounding your lifelong community home and furthermore, at it’s heart, Monsters is also an accidental love story of two Americans caught on the wrong side of the quarantined border. Aside from a belligerent, opportunistic and rapacious “Ticket Seller” (Mario Zuniga Benavides) the film wholly focuses on the trials and tribulations of “Andrew Kaulder” (Scoot McNairy) a photographer who reluctantly agrees to escort his employer’s daughter “Samantha Wynden” (Whitney Able) away from the infected zone, to the coast, and home to America. They are both awkward strangers and both have different reasons for returning home aside from attacks from the unseen creatures, with Samantha originally desperate to return and “see my fiancée and live happily ever after” but after being thrown together in a desperate situation and after a drunken night fuelled by Mexican tequila, their dynamic changes as well as their well intended plans for returning home.
Scoot McNairy, who would follow Monsters with roles in Argo, 12 Years a Slave and Gone Girl is excellent as the conflicted photographer Andrew. He’s forever performing his day job of taking photographs and seeking the unique story that will pay well as the couple make their perilous way towards home but equally has to justify his role to a sceptical and tired Samantha but ultimately it’s her Father who pays “zero” for happier stories and has to justify his action with “I don’t cause this. I document it”. Whitney Able would follow her role in Monsters here with roles in Straight A’s and 2014’s A Walk Among the Tombstones and together with her real life husband Scoot McNairy carry the film’s tight, tense and ultimate familial narrative very well.
Monsters may not actually be a film about monsters but it’s so much more than that and far more than a simple clichéd horror fest. It could be argued as a post apocalyptic road movie, a character study of two desperate human beings seeking refuge from unseen forces and a safe passage home, an accidental love story even or maybe a reflective take on human beings tackling nature, the universe or even immigration. But more importantly Monsters is an incredible début feature film from Gareth Edwards as he employs many obtuse and oblique camera angles that perfectly fit the fractured and unnerving narrative, as well as relying on Colin Goudie’s often frenetic editing and his sound department’s excellent use of atmospheric creature sounds that are vital to a mostly unseen foe.
Above all, Gareth has written, helmed, shot and produced a low budget masterpiece that is visually and aurally effective and a film I’d highly recommend, and above and way beyond even than his visually stunning and heavily studio financed follow up.
Thanks for reading. Just for larks as always, and always a human reaction rather than spoilers galore. My three most recently published film articles are linked below or there’s well over 100 blog articles (with 300+ individual film reviews) within my archives from which to choose:
