Monsters

The pros: The cinematography is excellent. The editing is paced fairly well and makes good use of jump cuts. The lead actress is very good, considering she's acting in a vacuum. The CGI is seamless.

The cons: There is no story. There are no character arcs worth caring about. There is minimal suspense. The "alien" allegory is too simple. The lead male actor is inexperienced and uses slacker technique to mask it.

But, at the heart of this film is the relationship - and it seems to have been written by a 17 year old boy. I had to rent another film afterwards because this melted away faster than cotton candy in a sweaty hand (and yet, no brain candy and nominal CGI eye candy).

While there have been plenty of valid comparisons made between this film and last year's sci-fi hit District - 9 (due solely to the fact that the two films share an admittedly similar global concept; that of aliens landing and being contained within a restricted zone as a forced but entertaining allegory for racial disharmony. There the zone was in central South Africa and here it is the northernmost section of Mexico, the borderlands.) I think the media have missed the much more obvious filmic connections. To my mind this film is in fact less like a geographical reboot of D-9 and more like an art-house Cloverfield or perhaps a blockbuster Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky's epically sparse sci-fi classic). While the concept and metaphor certainly match that of District – 9 the closest the execution sways it further towards a combination of the latter two examples.

Instead of attempting to tell the story of a fictional universe using a number of cipher characters like D-9, this film instead tells the story of its two leads by way of its alien infestation. The titular monsters certainly are an integral force in crafting and driving the films narrative but they are not its real focus, this is where the two films differ. Instead we are made to follow American investigate journalist Colbert who is tasked by his employer to find and then accompany his daughter through the infected zone and into the United States before the beginning of the creature's active season.

It's a sparse plot and one that leads to a lot less action than you would expect, but it does work as the spinal centre of the film. Instead of confronting the creatures at every turn, discovering their origin, their weakness, their queen and then eventually using their knowledge to develop a dues ex machina and save the day like the big damn heroes of every similar film, these two simply exist in the universe like we do ours; as everyday citizens living their everyday lives. That's not to say though that the film is in any way banal; in fact their journey through the zone allows for a lot of stunning shots, shocking stories and silent terror, it's just that these occur in a different tense then we are used to. We are, like the protagonist Colbert, journalists in this world; we follow in the wake of the story, catching occasional glimpses of it from afar but mainly focusing on who and what it leaves behind.

The monsters, their destruction and the alternate world that they destroy are all filtered through the protagonists before they reach us upon the screen. It is their reactions to the events that elicit responses in us and their responses that in turn become our emotions. It is essential that the two leads be well crafted in order for this method to work. Thankfully then, they are; Hitting that perfect ratio of realism, stereotype, flaw and likability. They are the kind of characters that you would happily follow within the comparatively banal confines of a drama and so here, in this realm of heightened stakes, they become doubly interesting. The real surprise of the film for me was just how enjoyable, and oftentimes moving, it was to take this trip with the leads; to the point that by the time the ending rolled around I almost echoed their calls of 'I don't want to go home'. That dreaded disillusionment, the return to drudgery after a distinctly powerful event is something I can really understand but it is something uncommon to see in cinemas. Edwards isn't the only person to be thanked for this though; while his writing is great it's the two lead performances that are really essential and I think these two will be ones too watch in the future.

While I've made it quite clear that personally I preferred the human side of the story - that I could take or leave the monsters in comparison – i know there are many others around here who will not feel the same, others that are in it for the monsters (Spaulds certainly comes to mind). While I wouldn't advise taking that particular approach with this particular film, I don't think any of you creature features that do will be disappointed with what you see – and yes, you do see. The creatures are as well designed and animated as the characters. They feel totally alien to this world yet retain a certain sense of plausibility, as if they could feasibly belong to some other. Their power is also very well handled, being threatening enough in every situation but invincible in none. There is then a consistency to them that doesn't exist in a lot of other creatures, which sometimes feel like they are acting in accordance with the plot rather than their own rules or reality. While this may get some of you salivating I have to say again that well designed or no these creatures are little more than an external force, they exist off screen much more than on.

It is then, an ironically titled film I guess because the Monsters of the title are anything but central. I think the real test should be whether or not you would go and see this film were it called 'Humans'. Those that do, more specifically those that make their way all the way through to the final act, will be in for a treat as the film has a handful of utterly sublime moments. The ending itself was a little abrupt but I think it's pretty clever, probably warranting a second watch. Definitely warranting a first watch.

I understand this is a very low budget movie. If so, it is another example of the marvels which can be worked with a small budget by original and creative people.

Despite the sci-fi trimmings - ostensibly similar to the recent, but vastly inferior, tentacled alien invasion movie Skyline - this is essentially a two-hander road movie with a touch of growing romance thrown in. The hand-held camera adds verite but doesn't jitter so constantly as to stimulate nausea. There are some gorgeous visuals - both spectacular natural shots and also effects shots such as The Wall. And the two unknowns who we accompany on their journey - the gorgeous Whitney Able and the not so gorgeous Scoot McNairy - are both very good.

But most credit must go to Gareth Edwards, the creative force behind this film.

I warn you, this is not really a science fiction film, or if you wish a romance science fiction movie. I admit though the mix-up between the two elements is rather unusual. Well, this is not a genuine bad film. I regularly confound this movie with another science fiction film from this same year 2010: SKYLINE, which some elements are the same as here. Very strange actually. Of course CLOVERFIELD inspired this movie, useless to be a die hard movie buff to undertsand it. I prefered the 2008 film however. But if you don't know MONSTERS yet, try it. I repeat, it is unusual. And for a first film, it's a good one.

"If Cloverfield and Independence Day were 9/11, then this is Afghanistan"

With a budget of only a few hundred thousand pounds, 2 actors and a sound technician, Gareth Edwards set off to Central America to shoot his debut feature. 'Monsters' is a great film in its own right, but considering the limited resources Edwards had at his disposal it is also a huge achievement.

Monsters is set in Mexico, 6 years after a space probe sent to recover samples of life from a distant moon broke up during re-entry to our atmosphere. The Northern half of Mexico has become an 'infected zone' overrun by creatures which initially colonise trees before growing into what could only be described as giant, walking land octopus. But this isn't your typical monster film. The aliens aren't hellbent on destroying earth and all mankind, in fact they aren't even the main aspect of the story. Monsters is more road-movie than alien blockbuster. Andrew Kaulder, (Scot Mcnairy) a photographer working in Mexico for an American publication, is contacted by the publications owner and told to find his daughter Samantha (Whitney Able) and make sure she gets home. With all other options exhausted, the pair realise they need to travel overland through the dangerous infected zone in order to reach the US border, where a wall has been built to keep out the Mexic…. I mean aliens.

At the heart of Monsters is the relationship between Kaulder and Samantha, which has an almost lost in translation-y feel to it. Two people meeting at a point in time, in an alien (intended) landscape and finding comfort in each other's company. The performances are thoroughly engaging, the dialogue realistic and their interactions with local people feel totally authentic. This is a film about travelling as much as aliens, and Edwards is spot on in his portrayal of life on the road. The frustrating interactions with local travel agents, conversations about nothing in particular and long bus and boat trips spent watching the world go by, are all taken straight from the real world. Several minutes of the film are simply scenes of the stunning landscape rolling past, none of the locals in the film are actors and the script was largely improvised on the road as the cast and crew made their way through Central America. The film was very much shot in the style of a documentary, and it shows.

The great strength of Monsters is the way in which this authentic on- the-road atmosphere is seamlessly superimposed onto a beautifully created backdrop of aliens, destruction and war… and they are just a backdrop. The fighter jets overhead, discarded tanks littering the countryside, smoking ruins, stunning sunsets, "extra-terrestriales" warning signs and powerful calls of 'the creatures' sporadically ringing out through the air all combine to create a wonderful atmosphere and visually stunning results.

There's another reason that this isn't your typical big-screen alien invasion. I enjoyed the fact that it was set in a poor, rural and beautiful landscape (not New York or whatever…) and that the aliens were portrayed as being a part of nature with their annual migration, showing no interest in harming humans unless they get in the way or provoke them.

Having said all that, the film isn't without its problems. As was the case with District 9, Monsters attempts to use the creatures plight to voice a political message, this time on US immigration and foreign intervention policies. The aliens in Mexico being kept out of the US by a wall, the American military fighting a war abroad that they can't possibly win….. getting anything? Unfortunately, as with District 9, it fails to deliver any punch. The messages are too obvious and somewhat heavy handed, particularly when alluded to in the script. This doesn't necessarily detract from the film, it just fails to add anything to it. As much as I enjoyed the authenticity of much of the dialogue, the script was also a little light on meaningful interaction between the two characters.

Despite being generally well received by critics Monsters (judging by comments and ratings on IMDb) doesn't seem to be sitting so well with the general public and that points to another problem, Marketing. The deceptive trailer and poster would suggest that this is a CGI fuelled alien blockbuster, full of scares and action. The reality is that it is an independent road movie, more mumblecore romance than Hollywood action and that actually you see very little of the monsters. The marketing simply isn't reaching out to the right audience, and is leaving many viewers feeling quite understandably a little cheated by the lack of monster activity. When they do appear though they're not a disappointment and the final scene is nothing short of spectacular.

Gareth Edwards wrote, directed, and shot the entire film. The special effects and CGI scenes, all of which are outstanding, were rendered by Edwards himself, on his laptop, using standard Adobe software. For this reason Monsters is not only a hugely impressive film in its own right, but also a great achievement. Hollywood studios should sit up and take notice of what it's now possible to create with £500,000, 2 actors, a sound technician and an off the shelf laptop.