Monsters (2010)

Six years after Earth has suffered an alien invasion a cynical journalist agrees to escort a shaken American tourist through an infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border.

Director:

Gareth Edwards

Writer:

Gareth Edwards

Stars:

Scoot McNairy, Whitney Able, Mario Zuniga Benavides

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 9 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Scoot McNairy	...	Andrew Kaulder
Whitney Able	...	Samantha Wynden
Mario Zuniga Benavides	...	Ticket Seller
Annalee Jefferies	...	Homeless Woman
Justin Hall	...	Marine
Ricky Catter	...	Marine
Paul Archer	...	Marine
Kerry Valderrama	...	Marine (as Kerry Valderrema)
Jonathan Winnford	...	Marine
Stan Wong	...	Marine
Anthony Cristo	...	Marine
Mario Richardson	...	Marine
Jorge Quirs	...	Marine
Erick Arce	...	Marine
Emigo Munkel	...	Marine

Storyline

Six years ago NASA discovered the possibility of alien life within our solar system. A probe was launched to collect samples, but crashed upon re-entry over Central America. Soon after, new life form began to appear and half of Mexico was quarantined as an INFECTED ZONE. Today, the American and Mexican military still struggle to contain "the creatures"...... Our story begins when a US journalist agrees to escort a shaken tourist through the infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border.

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Plot Keywords:

mexico | alien | alien invasion | central america | military | 

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Taglines:

Now, It's Our Turn To Adapt.

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [France]

Country:

UK

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

3 December 2010 (UK)

Also Known As:

Čudovišta

Filming Locations:

Yaxha, Maya ruins, Guatemala

Box Office

Budget:

$800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£348,577 (UK) (3 December 2010)

Gross:

$237,301 (USA) (24 December 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vertigo Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The music playing while Kaulder and Wynden wander through the Mexican market is a song featured on the Voyager Probe's Golden Record, "El Cascabel".

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Goofs

The Pre-Columbian pyramid the two protagonists climb is located in a jungle setting. From the top of this pyramid they are able to view the border between Texas and Mexico, which is nowhere near any jungle.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Title Card: Six years ago... NASA discovered the possibility of alien life within our solar system. A space probe was launched to collect samples but broke up during re-entry over Mexico. Soon after new life forms began to appear and half of the was quarantined as an INFECTED ZONE. Today... The Mexican & US military still struggle to contain 'the creatures'...

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Connections

Featured in Behind the Scenes of 'Monsters' (2011)

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Soundtracks

"El Cascabel"
Written by Lorenzo Barcelata
Performed by Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán

User Reviews

NASA accidentally solves border security with lightbright octopi from space.

OK this gets a strong 7.9 on my trait average scale that I just made up, but on an insanely low budget of something around $15,000 dollars, this film deserves everyone's attention. The plot: NASA accidentally solves border security with lightbright octopi from space. In the first 3 minutes of this film we learn that a probe carrying samples of alien life has broken up in reentry showering larges swaths of Mexico with debris that eventually manifests in giant octopus monsters. The militaries of the US and Mexico do their best to contain the "infected zone" and kill the monsters with heavy firepower. The story starts about 6 years after the monsters show up and the battle to keep the aliens at bay rages on. We're introduced to a photographer hoping to snap a picture of one of the monsters up close who gets roped into escorting the boss's daughter to the coast and back to her Fiancé' after she's injured in a monster attack. The pair, played by real-life couple Scoot McNairy and Whitney Able, are stuck south of the infected area on an increasingly lawless overland trip through central America trying to find a way back to the safety of the States. The post-apocalyptic feel of the areas destroyed by the monsters make for some of the most memorable shots in this film. The Director/Writer/DP/VFX Artist, Gareth Edwards has shot a really beautiful film that revels in guerrilla style shooting and constantly shifting focuses helping push the subtle urgency of the travelers' situation. The monster effects are believable and Edwards deserves due credit for some fun visuals but he successfully directs our attention to the human story rather than letting the monsters be the main character. This is not a traditional action sci-fi movie though there are certainly heart-pounding, jaw-dropping scenes of mayhem and military firepower; it's a character driven story set in a sci-fi disaster monster movie and it works. Don't go in thinking it is District 9 or Cloverfield. It was certainly not what I expected, but that turned out to be a good thing in this case.

Facts from the Director Q&A: -Filmed on a Sony EX3 with a Nikon 50 MM Lens -Used almost exclusively natural light except for a couple tiny LED lights for when it was pitch black -Effects were done in Adobe CS4, editing in Premiere -The majority of filming was shot with just a sound guy the director and the 2 main characters -Look for this to come out in Late October via Magnolia Pictures in the US and November in the UK