I've not seen much in the way of positives posted about this movie. I'm going to stand alone in total disagreement and say that, for an asylum flick, it is honest, well thought out and comes across as a labour of love from all concerned. I very much enjoyed it.
The two leads, Erin Evans and Sarah Lieving, did a most creditable job of portraying a pair of sisters who were amateur film makers, in their deportment, voice tone, and physical reactions to the storyline. Miss Evans especially did a fine job of portraying believable despair, and her simple attractiveness made her a protagonist worth pulling for. The dialogue throughout was consistently appropriate. In my opinion, the girls were solid actors portraying amateurs, and did it well. I've seen lots worse, especially in this genre. Director Erik Estenberg paced the action well, and was skilled enough to pull of a pretty fair Tokyo, filming in LA. Not bad.
Action sequences were believable, and sometimes excellent within the budget constraints. The bombing scenes were especially effective, and the limiting of the monster to a few tentacles here and there and just one major showing, veiled by darkness, was appreciated. Thumbs up here.
Flaws? Oh, sure. Mr. Estenberg could have chopped about 8 to 10 minutes off the film to tighten up the drama, and some of the survival decisions made by the characters were, shall we say suicidal and stretched credibility a tad. Not really a Cloverfield ripoff, I would say it is more like another movie in the same vein, not as well done but certainly watchable. But I'd like to counter the negative with some positives and hope a few of you reading this will give "Monster" a fair shot.
And I would also hope to see the two leading ladies and director in other endeavours - the talent in this trio was evident, and makes the film click. I'll watch it again with no hesitation.
The two leads, Erin Evans and Sarah Lieving, did a most creditable job of portraying a pair of sisters who were amateur film makers, in their deportment, voice tone, and physical reactions to the storyline. Miss Evans especially did a fine job of portraying believable despair, and her simple attractiveness made her a protagonist worth pulling for. The dialogue throughout was consistently appropriate. In my opinion, the girls were solid actors portraying amateurs, and did it well. I've seen lots worse, especially in this genre. Director Erik Estenberg paced the action well, and was skilled enough to pull of a pretty fair Tokyo, filming in LA. Not bad.
Action sequences were believable, and sometimes excellent within the budget constraints. The bombing scenes were especially effective, and the limiting of the monster to a few tentacles here and there and just one major showing, veiled by darkness, was appreciated. Thumbs up here.
Flaws? Oh, sure. Mr. Estenberg could have chopped about 8 to 10 minutes off the film to tighten up the drama, and some of the survival decisions made by the characters were, shall we say suicidal and stretched credibility a tad. Not really a Cloverfield ripoff, I would say it is more like another movie in the same vein, not as well done but certainly watchable. But I'd like to counter the negative with some positives and hope a few of you reading this will give "Monster" a fair shot.
And I would also hope to see the two leading ladies and director in other endeavours - the talent in this trio was evident, and makes the film click. I'll watch it again with no hesitation.