Shot on the Sony PMW-EX3
Every once in a while, we come across something that has all of the best ingredients yet lacks a quality execution. For example, let's say a renowned chef has all the things you need to make an incredible Chocolate Cake, but instead of using a conventional oven, the chef decides to bake it over an open fire. Sure, the cake will probably still be tasty for the most part, but it won't be as delicious as it could have been had the chef just done something different. I don't mean to say that experimentation is a bad thing, not at all. However, experimenting only really works if you have a firm understanding of what already works and how best to bend those expectations. While today's movie, Monsters, does genuinely want to accomplish this goal, it falls short of doing so by lacking the one most crucial aspect of any narrative: a reason to care.
Taking place six years after an Alien invasion in northern Mexico, the story follows a young photo-journalist named Andrew (Scott McNairy) who is sent to retrieve his bosses daughter Sam (Whitney Able) from a retreat just south of The Infected Zone. After missing their intended transport, the two of them have to travel through the war zone on foot to make it back to the U.S. Along the way; they encounter a couple of Alien creatures, witness the changes the invaders are making to the Earths eco-system and form an unexpected bond. All the while trying to stay alive, and in doing so, learn more about the nature of the invading beasts.
This movie is yet another prime example of a high-quality homemade piece of cinema (mostly). Not only was the film shot on a high-end consumer HD camcorder, but it was also put together in an incredibly minimal fashion. The crew for this film consisted of writer/director Gareth Edwards (more on him in a moment), who also functioned as the cinematographer, camera operator, and co-visual effects artist along with an additional sound recordist and visual effects man. The team would pick a spot to shoot a scene (much of the dialogue was improvised). Afterward, they would import the footage onto a laptop and edit the scene while applying the special effects. Most of it was creating fake murals on walls, changing the content of road signs, and adding or removing various pieces of debris and the like to sell the illusion. All of which was accomplished using consumer level equipment on a budget of $500,000 while maintaining a much more expensive and professional look and feel. This film should be excellent in just about every possible way, am I right?
Well,
Before I discuss the movie proper, I want to take a moment to talk about the camera used to capture the film. Monsters was shot on a Sony PMW-EX3. A consumer camcorder with an interchangeable lens system and built-in cinematic options such as 24p framerate. Another piece of gear used for the film was a Letus Adapter, which was a unique device you attached to the front of the camera to use various brands of lenses. Thereby creating a more shallow depth of field and adding a slightly grainy look to the footage to better simulate the look of celluloid film. Also, just like Down and Dangerous, Nikon photography lenses were used with the camera system. All of these elements, combined with what must have been liberal use of natural lighting, create a beautiful looking film that stands as one of my favorite examples of great looking cinematography. As well as a perfect example of how you can make a movie on just about any kind of camera system and damn popular conventions.
Okay, not on to discussing the film proper.
On a technical and technological level, the film is incredibly admirable. It succeeds in creating a Hollywood flare on a shoestring budget. Thereby reinforcing the idea that just about anyone can make a great movie, and anyone out there who wants to do so should just go for it. It is, arguably, one of the best examples of having the guts to go out there and make your dream a reality. For that reason alone, Monsters is a movie I will always appreciate and admire.
However, it's just not as good as it really should have been.
You see, the biggest problem with the movie is its writing, and by extension, the treatment of the main characters. As I mentioned earlier, the film was written and directed by Gareth Edwards. A British filmmaker who started as a visual effects artist. He eventually went on to head the 2014 Godzilla reboot and Rouge One: A Star Wars Story. The former of which is not all that better and the latter of which is incredibly underrated in my opinion. As a director, Gareth Edwards is, for the most part, an artist I like. His camera language is fluid and conveys the mood of the given scene remarkably well, his sense of framing is on-par with the likes of Spielberg, and his color style succeeds in being dark and eerie without really feeling dull or lifeless. All of these things, when combined with a good script and a competent cast, have the potential to create something beautiful and genuine. Unfortunately, in the case with Monsters, the writing falls entirely on its face.
Much like the central conflict of the Alien invasion depicted in the film, the script seems to be at war with itself between what it wants to be and what it truly is. It wants to be a character-driven story focusing on the relationship between the two leads (which in and of itself is a good idea), but the two lead characters in question are terrible one-dimensional jackasses who don't speak or behave like real or sympathetic people. Not to mention the incredibly limited range of the main actors along with their lack of chemistry. The movie wants to deliver a relevant commentary about illegal immigration but delivers it in an overly simplistic and even childish manner, not befitting the intended severe and dramatic tone of the film. It wants to be a profound story about love and the nature of humanity, but its execution of those themes wouldn't even be acceptable in an episode of The Care Bears. To quote MovieBob from his original video review for Monsters, this movie "shows the world what might have happened if M. Night Shyamalan had directed Cloverfield." I don't think I could have said it better myself.
I genuinely wanted to like this film. Watching a movie with all of the best ingredients and intentions fall apart at the seams breaks my heart. Because movies like this should be a beacon of hope and inspiration for all aspiring and professional filmmakers, and while Monsters still achieves that, if only on a technical level, I cannot recommend it as a good movie. I can, however, recommend you give it a look as an example of sound low budget special effects, the professional power of consumer equipment, and an inspirational demonstration of doing what it takes to make your vision a reality. In other words, see it more as an inspirational tech demo, and less as a compelling narrative.
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm, thank you all for reading.
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