Review
LOVE AND MONSTERS – Review
By Marc Butterfield
One of the best monster movies has invaded the screens from director Michael Matthews, LOVE AND MONSTERS.
Seven years after the Monsterpocalypse, Joel Dawson (Dylan O’Brien), along with the rest of humanity, has been living underground ever since giant creatures took control of the land. After reconnecting over radio with his high school girlfriend Aimee (Jessica Henwick), who is now 80 miles away at a coastal colony, Joel begins to fall for her again. As Joel realizes that there’s nothing left for him underground, he decides against all logic to venture out to Aimee, despite all the dangerous monsters that stand in his way. The fun-filled and action-packed adventure also stars Michael Rooker and Ariana Greenblatt.
LOVE AND MONSTERS starts out with a bang. Literally. The exposition puts you squarely in the “you are here” of the story, and so minimal time is wasted on trying to figure it all out. Dylan O’Brien is a very “Hiccup” type character, but less useful, and his new survivalist family have great affection for him, but little respect, appropriately so. He bumbles and exposits, with no skill apparently other than making great minestrone soup, and having a lot of heart. But this cannot go on forever. Having spent his last seven years underground with this survivor lot, he begins to feel the need to more than hide and live, and makes it his life’s goal to find his high school sweetheart, Aimee, and, against all odds, finds out that not only is she alive, but he knows WHERE she is too. And so begins the Hero’s journey type story.
In a way, this movie plays out like a well made video game. Our intrepid hero has a mission, a pack, and a weapon, and the monsters he has to get through to reach his goal increase in difficulty as his journey progresses. This premise may not sound great, but it’s well put together, the actors are all high quality, and the production values and beautiful on-location shooting in Queensland, Australia, along with the lush cinematography by Lachlan Milne, make this seem like an A-list movie, and LOVE AND MONSTERS is enjoyable from front to back.
There are some fantastic surprises too, the monsters are out of the rule book of Ray Harryhausen, and O’Brien always comes across as likeable, and you find yourself rooting for him even when he does stupid stuff.
The fact that his one USEFUL skill is sketching and cataloguing the monsters as he goes along lets you know that his sketchbook will become a valuable commodity in this new and dangerous world. Along the way, he picks up a dog named Boy, a mentor (Michael Rooker, subdued, but played like a master), and a sage (unexpectedly a little girl, played by Ariana Greenblatt, offers simple wisdom), and director Matthews’ (Five Fingers For Marseilles) eventful trip is way more interesting than his destination.
The on-screen chemistry between Greenblatt and O’Brien is sweet and they really seem like a big brother and little sister finding their way through the end-of-the-world circumstances. Looking forward to see what’s next for the very talented Greenblatt.
Somehow though, the relationship he has with Aimee is about the driest part of the movie, despite the two young actors talents. It’s impossible to not root for him each and every leg of this journey, as you can see that no word, picture, or memory, is without use in the future.
The film is also enhanced by the fantastic monster-like score from composers by Marco Beltrami and Marcus Trumpp. Listen HERE.
While it may not beg for a sequel, LOVE AND MONSTERS is well worth the investment in time and harkens back to the fun days of the Saturday matinee that filled the cinemas. Come for the apocalypse and stay for the monsters!
3 1/2 out of 4 stars
Rating:
PG-13 for action/violence, language and some suggestive material
Available on digital platforms:
Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, FandangoNow, Google Play, Xfinity and more
Contributed by Michelle Hannett
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