Monsters (2010)

The "credit card" movie is dead. The term was first used to describe micro-budget filmmaking in connection with Robert Rodriguez's El Mariachi (1992). Apparently he used all available credit and then resorted to experimental clinical drug testing. Nowadays, despite ongoing loan opportunities, it's simply not possible to use credit cards to fund independent filmmaking. Last year the UK's budget breakout film was Duncan Jones' Moon (2009), reportedly costing $5 million. This year the crown belongs to British born Gareth Edwards, he's made a film that has cost a tenth of that amount. 

Edwards' background is in visual effects, after 10 years in the industry his career peaked with must-see documentary In the Shadow of the Moon (2007). A Discovery Films tribute featuring talking heads from all surviving members (except Neil Armstrong) of the Apollo space programme. Monsters is Edwards' first film as director (and screenwriter, cinematographer, production designer), however, unlike Shadow, Nasa don't garner anywhere near the same amount of prestige.

The American space agency has sent a probe to a newly discovered planet to collect samples of alien life forms. On it's return to Earth it crash lands in Central America. The films begins six years after this event with New World Tribune photographer Andrew Kaulder (Scoot McNairy) in South America promising his employer he'll safely return his stranded daughter Samantha Wynden's (Whitney Able) through the infected and quarantined zone back into homeland USA.

British company Vertigo Films are on fire right now. As distributors they've been behind some outstanding films since establishing in 2002, highlights to name but a few include London to Brighton (2006), The Escapist (2008) and my favourite, Shotgun Stories (2007). Following this success they're now branching out to production, Monsters being one of the few so far. An obvious yet key inspiration throughout the film, apparently suggested to Edwards by producers at Vertigo, was In Search of a Midnight Kiss (2007), a truly magical romantic comedy (discussed in more depth here) also staring Scoot McNairy. It's set in downtown LA (a different kind of jungle) with slightly less monsters. This leads us to the first criticism of the film...

In the ongoing pursuit of maximising box office potential a trend of late has arisen. This regards the misrepresentation of art-house films as more generic and mainstream, primarily through marketing campaigns (posters, radio spots or the trailers). After viewing the Somos Lo Que Hay (We Are What We Are) (2010) trailer you would be forgiven for expecting a fast-paced zombie-like cannibalistic gore fest. In fact, only one character is nibbled (rather than bitten) and even that occurs off screen. The trailer for Cyrus (2010) plays off Jonah Hill's previous box office smashes Superbad (2007) and Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) rather than what it really is, a brilliant effort to bring the Duplass brother's canonical  Mumblecore sub-genre to the mainstream.

Ultimately this type of marketing leads to unfavourable critical press and a general public who quite rightly feel cheated. It's akin to false advertising, and William 'D-Fens' Foster would not be happy. While watching The American (2010) on Friday, a large majority of the audience appeared bored, either talking, texting or in general fidgeting. They were probably expecting lighthearted charming Gorgeous George - Up In The Air (2009) - Clooney re-enacting his assassin role in Out of Sight (1998). What they got was stoic paranoia, and his best performance since Michael Clayton (2007). 

In Monsters' case, whilst the quad is not inaccurate, it is misleading. "Jaw-dropping", "Packs a powerful punch", "A new world of terror". Alongside the trailer and quad backgrounds one would assume this is another post-apocalyptic/dystopian-world genre movie along the lines of 28 days later (2002), The Road (2009, Book of Eli (2010), District 9 (2009), Doomsday (2008), or perhaps even Southland Tales (2006). In reality the action is minimal. As is often the case when budget constraints are in place the filmmaker has to infer rather than show. It can prove much more effective. Monsters is more concerned in developing the relationship between its two central protagonists rather than CGI.

The title alone is misleading, was that Vertigo's marketing departments idea also? As Steve Rose states in his article Monsters: The bedroom blockbuster that's the anti-Avatar:

"it servers up hipster indie vibes and, despite the title, offers a 

genuine alternative to your standard monster-movie fare"

The film made a huge impact when it was first unveiled at this years SXSW festival and the viral campaign has continued to grow since. It's a wonderful twist on a tired genre and well worth a viewing if you can.


Monsters is released this Friday and is certified 12A.