FILM: MONSTERS

Elliot Hyams gets to grips with the new Monster film that isn’t what it appears to be.

When you buy tickets for a film called Monsters it can be fairly easy to predict what you are about to see. This will more than likely include terrible dialogue, lots of explosions, and a large muscle clad Arnie clone running around with his top off and filling CGI ghoulies with copious amounts of lead. But if this is the assumption you have made about this month’s offering from writer/director Gareth Edwards I am happy to inform you that you couldn’t be more mistaken. Monsters is a unique take on the alien invasion genre that proudly wears its indie credentials on its sleeve. Avoiding the big budget nonsense of films such as Independence Day and last month’s abysmal Skyline, Monsters instead uses those things all too often missing from the genre, intelligence, character development, and believable well delivered dialogue.

Set six years after the appearance of giant squid like creatures in Mexico, Monsters tells the story of an American photographer named Andrew who is forced to accompany his bosses daughter, Sam, through the restricted quarantine zone where the aliens reside and deliver her safely back on American soil. The aliens themselves form a backdrop to the true story of Monsters, which is a study of humanity rather than extra terrestrial life. Anyone expecting balls to the wall action will be sorely disappointed as the brunt of the story revolves around the burgeoning relationship between Andrew and Sam, played with genuine depth by Scoot McNairy and Whitney Able, as they travel through the ravaged Mexican landscape, encountering people who have had no other choice but to try and forge a life in the shadow of these strange creatures. The aliens do appear, but one is left with the impression that is us, rather than they, who are the monsters of the title.

Like the Brilliant District 9, Monsters tries to do something different with the genre, using the aliens as a form of social commentary rather than mindless spectacle. Edwards made the film on a miniscule budget, travelling around Mexico with a tiny crew and enlisting real people to appear alongside the stars, then adding the aliens and scenes of devastation using Adobe After Effects. The majority of the script was improvised which adds to the realism of the film, particularly when Sam and Andrew encounter members of the public. Edwards’ decision to keep the on screen presence of the squid creatures to a minimum may frustrate some viewers, but it really does work very well within the context of the film and adds to the impact they have when we do get to see them. Tragically Monsters appears to have been marketed quite poorly, the trailers present it as something which it simply is not. A lot of the negative reviews have describe Monsters as slow and boring, but whilst the pacing is definitely deliberate, this fits the style of the film and helps to create moments of beautiful poignancy within a film that dares to break from the trend of mindless popcorn nonsense.

Review by Elliot Hyams.

FILM: SKYLINE

Elliot Hyams looks into the light as the world prepares for yet another alien invasion.

Those pesky aliens! It seems they just can’t help themselves. For every E.T that just wants to cross dress and go for bike rides with small children, there seems to be countless others who make the intergalactic trip with the sole intent of blowing up our major landmarks and harvesting our organs for dinner. This month’s new sci- fi release Skyline features a group of tentacled visitors who fit firmly into the latter category. Written, produced, and directed by ‘The Brothers Strause’, the film tells the story of an alien invasion from the perspective of a group of survivors trapped inside the penthouse apartment of a California condo. Their lives are changed forever when giant spaceships appear over every major city in the world, emitting a bright blue light that draws anyone who sees it into the open, where they are rapidly sucked up into the mother ship and parted from their tasty brains by the seemingly indestructible invaders.

Last year, Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 offered a new outlook on the alien invasion genre. With heavy references to apartheid, prejudice and media manipulation, Blomkamp managed to mix comedy and drama while telling a story that was incredibly well formed. But unlike District 9, Skyline brings absolutely nothing new to the genre, and has nothing of value to say to its viewers. The script is atrocious and filled with those terrible “we have to survive” clichéd speeches, which are only tolerable in films if a shark jumps up and eats someone immediately after they have delivered said speech. The characters are two dimensional, and more often than not it is actually quite a relief to watch them die. The scary parts aren’t that scary, and the exciting parts aren’t that exciting. The whole thing has the inescapable feel of a B-movie with a bit of a budget, but that’s because it is a B-movie with a bit of a budget.

Costing a meagre $10 million to make, Colin and Gregg Strause financed the film without the aid of a major studio. Furthermore, the majority of the film was shot on location at the condo where Gregg resides. Despite the special effects that fill almost every shot, Skyline serves as a good example of low budget film making and for this The Brothers Strause do deserve some credit. This is only the second film directed by the duo. Before directing the atrocious Alien vs. Predator: Requiem they had spent well over a decade producing visual effects for television and Hollywood blockbusters. It is clear that this is what they are best at, the spaceships and alien creatures in Skyline are fantastically designed and realised, it’s just the humans that seem fake. There are a few good ideas in Skyline, but none of them are executed well enough to redeem it. Put simply, Skyline is nonsense that takes itself a bit too seriously for its own good. If you really do want to watch it, why not wait until it turns up on Channel Five, which in all honesty, is where it belongs.

Review by Elliot Hyams