SXSW Film Review: Monsters
SXSW 2010: Monsters
Directed by: Gareth Edwards
Starring: Whitney Able, Scoot McNairy
Review by: Britt Hayes
Six years ago, aliens invaded Mexico and they haven’t left. In fact, they’ve been multiplying. Every year they migrate, and during this time, it is unsafe to travel within the infected zone. Andrew Kaulder (McNairy) is a photo-journalist on a mission. His ordinary pictures of people, places, and things, don’t net him enough money. What his boss pays the big bucks for are pictures of depressing things like dead children, and what his boss wants right now are pictures of these aliens. It just so happens his boss’s daughter is in Mexico and she needs a ride to the US. Samantha Wynden joins up with Andrew and the two of them try to secure a safe ferry ride for her to get back home before the migration season begins in two days. Andrew buys her the $5000 ticket, but when Andrew is robbed and Samantha’s passport stolen, their only other option is to travel by land, through the infected zone.
The majority of Monsters is a small, intimate film focusing on the journey of these two Americans just trying to make it back home and avoid being killed by the aliens. Along the way we discover that the US has erected a giant wall on the US/Mexico border to keep the aliens out, and they’ve been flying over and spraying some sort of chemical to kill the aliens’ eggs, which they leave on trees.
Monsters is not a straight-horror film. I would probably classify it as Sci-Fi Drama. The focus is kept mainly on Samantha and Andrew, the relationship they develop, and their perilous journey home. There are some suspenseful, edge-of-your seat moments, and thanks to the small way in which it is filmed, these moments feel claustrophobic, fully immersing the audience in the experience.
Director Gareth Edwards created all the effects on his own, using Adobe After Effects on his computer. Monsters will undoubtedly get compared to District 9 in the effects department. But Edwards does something a bit different here. While Blomkamp stuck to the hard and gritty flat surfaces of the Prawns in District 9, Edwards set out to defy the limits of what could be created on a small budget using special effects, and inserts things like tentacles and mysterious glows. These things shouldn’t work, but they do, and they look beautiful.
During the Q & A after the film, it was explained that the wall the US erect in the film was in no way meant to be commentary on the current immigration issues in the US, but that element still resonated heavily among the crowd. Monsters is in no way meant to be political or social commentary. It’s a very simple, dramatic story about two people on a journey, with the aliens only serving as peripheral element. The aliens aren’t meant to be outlandish or incredible. They aren’t here to really inform the story at all. Instead, they are merely part of the existing setting in this alternate reality. Another force to overcome on the journey. As an audience, we are meant to accept them as another element in this fictional world.
There are substantial moments involving the creatures, though. Some are suspenseful and almost-frightening, but the real horrific elements are the dangers of the journey, and the interference by the US government that is causing the aliens to act with hostility.
Of exceptional note is that Edwards filmed hours upon hours of footage, which then had to be trimmed down to the requisite hour and a half runtime. There was no definitive script, only specific beats along the timeline of the film. The dialogue was all ad-libbed by the actors, which is even more impressive considering the large amount of Spanish language. Edwards took on a sort of guerilla style, accosting people like cab drivers and asking if they wanted to be a movie, and paying them to drive around while he tried to get as much necessary footage as possible. The wonderful thing is that you can’t tell that the film is mostly ad-libbed. It feels like a genuine story and a genuine script. This is the greatest accomplishment that Monsters makes.
Just like Red White & Blue, genre fans will seek this out, and while they won’t get what they thought they were in for, they will definitely find an exquisite film that continues to stick with the viewer for days afterwards. Upon first viewing, I can’t say that I was completely floored by the film, especially parts of the ending that seem a little excessive. But as time has worn on, I’ve grown to love Monsters and the lovely story within.
