Monsters (2010– 94 mins) Scoot McNairy, Whitney Able

Monsters is an interesting little known Indie movie. It appears on the surface to be a low budget sci-fi monster movie in which a NASA probe which has collected alien samples has crashed in Mexico and a new species has emerged on our planet. Sure on the surface it looks to be like this, and the marketing was even swayed to make it seem like the next “District 9”. I am real glad to report that it’s not just a take on District 9. No, it’s more then all of that. It’s a story of heart, of fearing the unknown and what the unknown might actually be.

We follow 2 people on their journey through and around the “infected zone”. Andrew (McNairy) is a photo journalist tasked by his boss to bring home his daughter Samantha (Able) to the states. The movie is their journey and what happens to them throughout. Again the beauty of the movie is the simplicity not so much the effects. The story is what drives it all, and the interactions. The nay-sayers will dismiss this movie as “boring” and “low budget crap”, but I implore you to look past the fact it was made for less then 1 million and look at the plot and the implied metaphors (no nothing about our government or anything– I deplore that crap, so I wouldn’t advocate that like in “The Green Zone”) , as they are both very strong. Sure  I think the 2 main actors could be better, especially since the whole movie rests fairly solidly on their shoulders, but they do an admirable job at carrying it.

Verdict–> I am not sure this will be a movie that will appeal to everyone but if you enjoy a character study, and a good subtle movie, with hey, a bit of sci-fi thrown in there, then this is one for you. Don’t come looking for big budget Michael Bay or Spielberg effects tho, as they are not here. I do recommend this movie, and I would say it makes an excellent lead in for a double feature night at the red box.

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