Monsters (2010)

Visual F/X by Gareth Edwards
Cinematography by Gareth Edwards
Written & Directed by Gareth Edwards

Shot for $15,000 with two actors in Mexico, Gareth Edwards is the proof pudding: You don't need money, locations, props, or even more than 2 actors to make a brilliant film.

Monsters follows Andrew Kaulder (Scoot McNairy) as he travels the "Infected Zone" a militarized, fenced off portion of the southern US and northern Mexico where an "infected" NASA probe has crash landed, bringing with it alien life. When the aliens are not easily defeated, the world powers opt for containment. Kaulder is trying to get a picture of a live alien, having previously only photographed dead ones. He gets an assignment from his employer: Pick up his twenty-something daughter Samantha (Whitney Able) and bring her safely back to the US.

Monsters (2010) is the antithesis of films like Cloverfield. Instead of bawdy, loud action, the film focuses more on the characters and the drama between them, with instances of aliens used to punctuate the story, much like Stephen King's The Mist. Make no mistake, this is an alien movie, and they do cause some major destruction. However, through clever writing, editing, and visual f/x work, most of the aliens are seen through some third party source, such as TV and photos, and when they do pop up they're well hidden.

Here, the monster reveal is not the whole story. It's about the human interactions that come in the aftermath of such events, where humanity will succeed, and where it fails miserably.

The style of the film is unique, shot mostly hand-held, it retains the visceral nature of cinema verite, but it retains an intended style throughout, never delving into the much-hated "shaky cam".

The performances from the two leads are what carry the movie. Yes, the F/X are great, the story is well written, but it would all be for naught if the two leads were boring or unlikable. Taking two archetypes, the rich spoiled girl, and the photographer who cares more about his work than his life, they manage to turn the characters into real people, not caricatures of other people in movies past.

One of the biggest wins for this movie is the editing, it works in perfect conjunction with the cinematography, the camera work, and the pace of the story. Gareth Edwards has not only created a place that looks real, it also feels real and captures the right moments in our characters' journey.

Shot for nothing with a bare bones crew on location in Mexico couldn't have been easy, but Gareth Edwards makes it seem like everything was a breeze and people are stupid for not making more $15,000 movies by doing everything themselves. And he's right.

9.2/10