Movie: Monsters

Another film that was originally released well under the radar of pop cinema but caught my attention because of its originality. The story takes place several years after an invasion by an extraterrestrial life form that isn't initially explained beyond its introduction to earth by a recovered space probe. At this point in the invasion, massive tentacled beasts wander a large portion of Northern Mexico with the Mexican and US militaries attempting to keep them contained and eventually wipe them out.

With this sort of premise one might expect an action movie, an "us versus them" summer feature of bloody battles and inspiring speeches, but this wasn't the vision of writer/director Gareth Edwards. He instead chose to focus on just two very modest characters; an aspiring photographer for a notable publication and the daughter of the publication's CEO. Scoot, the photographer, was originally put on assignment to photograph the beasts but is asked to find and escort Whitney, the daughter, to the United States border. We follow Scoot and Whitney through poor villages and deserted cities while they do their best to avoid the aliens which are portrayed as beautiful creatures, capable of immense destruction and violence, but not in an evil way; in an innocent, instinctual way. They are simple animals thrown into a civilized world they could never understand. Instead of being the conflict, like every other film about aliens, they are a symbol. The major conflict is human emotion, it's the romantic tension that builds up between Scoot and Whitney in an environment of confusion and fear.

That said, Monsters might be a snooze-fest for some, but it's a film I enjoyed because it explores human emotion in such a refreshingly different environment and does so rather effectively.

4/5