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Monsters 15 rating

Gareth Edwards reimagined the monster movie with his highly impressive DIY sci-fi, in which an indie romance blossoms amid the trailing tentacles of an alien invasion.

Science Fiction 2010 94 mins

Director: Gareth Edwards

Rent for £3.50

Overview

Gareth Edwards upended monster movie conventions and presented Hollywood with an irresistible calling card (going on to direct the 2014 remake of Godzilla) with his highly impressive DIY sci-fi. Following an alien invasion, Mexico has become a quarantined zone and an American photographer (Scoot McNairy) has to escort his boss’ stranded daughter (Whitney Able) back across the US border.

As the pair’s initial frostiness thaws, Edwards defies genre conventions by shifting the human drama centre stage and moving the monsters to the margins. But even with its romantic charms this remains a compelling sci-fi film with a hauntingly realistic evocation of benign alien invasion. The story of the film’s production is also a minor miracle of low-budget filmmaking. With a skeleton crew and his two principal actors, effects wizard Edwards journeyed through Mexico in semi-improvised fashion, often casting local residents in minor supporting roles. All of the film’s digital effects were grafted on back in the UK, in the comfort of Edwards’ home studio.

Director
Gareth Edwards
Featuring
Scoot McNairyWhitney Able
Genres
Science FictionThriller
Certificate
15Contains infrequent strong language and moderate horror
Released
2010
Country
United Kingdom
Language
English