Review of the film Monsters

In the low-budget, independent film Monsters, it is quickly explained that in the near future a space probe is sent to Europa, a moon of Jupiter. Upon returning, it crash-lands in Mexico with some sort of alien life-form aboard that escapes into the open and begins infecting the jungles. The results of this infection are giant alien monsters that roam through the forests, responding aggressively only when first attacked and propagating throughout the countryside. This infected area is quickly quarantined, and the United States builds a massive wall to block the monsters from invading the country and begins assaulting them with missiles and explosives from aircraft above.

Andrew is a photojournalist working in the Central American area bordering this infected zone. He chronicles the effects of the monsters and the collateral damage from the battle against them. His wealthy boss orders him to escort his daughter, Samantha, through the infected zone back to the United States where her fiancé is waiting for her return. They fail to board a boat sailing across the Gulf to the coast of the U.S. and are forced to navigate through the very dangerous and wild terrain with hired guns to protect them.

It seems like a standard alien monster movie from the setup, but the creators seem to be attempting something a bit different. Viewers rarely see the giant creatures, but their threat and that of the wild landscape are always present in the tension of a scene, looming about in cast shadows and the lines in the characters' visages.  We do see the aftermath of the carnage wrecked by the war against the alien infection. A young girl's body lies on the dirt road that the small group uses nears a pickup truck that has been destroyed by a missile or a monster; it is difficult to say which one. Andrew has the opportunity to snap several photos of the scene. Journals back in the States would pay a high price for shots of a poor child killed in this conflict. But he hesitates, gazing at the worn shoe that hangs off her toes. Eventually the group moves on, and the creatures' moans are audible all around them as they call to one another, communing across the distance.

Traveling closer to the U.S. border, we see the huge wall that has been built to keep the monsters and infection out. It is an awesome sight, rendered even more impressive by how low the film’s budget was. In the story, however, this wall may not be as effective as it looks and the authorities had hoped. The final scenes take place just across that border as Andrew and Samantha attempt to find someone to point them in the direction of help. This new landscape appears as devastated and abandoned as that they have just come through. The alien monsters are nearby, and as night descends on them, they witness the creatures and begin, perhaps, to understand what their true desires on our planet are. Monsters is an interesting film, certainly not perfect and, at times, quite silly. But the visuals, tone, and ideas are worth the time.