Review - Monsters

With a film title as Monsters you would immediately think along the lines of horror, terrifying creatures and generally scary things, but with Gareth Edwards' directorial feature debut we get much much more than that. A science fiction tale with massive emotional value and a far cry from Hollywood's alien invasion clichés.

When a NASA space craft crashes in Mexico following a mission far into space, alien life forms begin to appear and soon the north of Mexico is quarantined, with creatures appearing between the US-Mexican border. With the American and Mexican armed forces constantly attempting to fend off the creatures the 'infected zone' is a place no-one dares to enter, a place where their lives are at maximum risk.


We follow the journey of photojournalist Andrew (Scoot McNairy), a man who is itching to get to the top of his current publication with that right photograph to land him on the front page. Unfortunately for him, his work is seemingly unnoticed despite his good intentions to bring forward positive photos as opposed to the negativity surrounding him. Adding to his woes, his boss tasks him with meeting up with his daughter Samantha (Whitney Able) and bringing her to safety, something he is reluctant to do.


He soon comes around and the pair find themselves trekking across Mexico together in an attempt to reach the USA where Samantha's father awaits her return. As with all plans, things go wrong, and when they look set for her to board a ferry her passport is stolen and they find themselves having to barter for a route through the Infected Zone. With all the dangers lurking in the zone can they make it through or will they perish to the evils that await them?


Monsters is nothing short of fantastic. Beautifully shot, intensely emotional and apart from your run-of-the-mill alien invasion movies, it is a marvel and a fine example of debut film-making at its best. Admittedly those looking for an action-packed alien movie will be bitterly disappointed but those waiting for an emotional and visually stunning film have all they would want in this, a modern day classic. This is a film to be celebrated and one that will have Gareth Edwards' name firmly on the 'most wanted' list of directors.


Film rating: 4 out of 5 F's