I'd read a few reviews before watching this film, so I was curious as to what it'd be like. To be honest, I was a little apprehensive, as it did seem to attract a lot of negative attention. Having now watched the film, I have to say that it's actually a very enjoyable movie. However, it isn't really suited to this age of ADHD cinema, whereby viewers seemingly demand non-stop unconvincing CGI images covering the screen at all times. I've seen films which reminded me more of my PS3 games than actual films. Well here we have a small budget to limit things, but don't let that put you off. In fact I don't even think the budget even dictated the volume of effects, as I get the impression the director is a bit smarter than that. The effects are there though and they aren't amazing, but they know their limits and they do the job. This is crucial, because the worst thing for me is when you watch a scene and it's ruined by some awful CGI which only serves to distract, when you know it wouldn't have been missed had it not been there at all. It's like a lot of things
use the CGI when you need to and use practical effects when you need to, but use all things in moderation.
I won't spoil the film, but I will say that if you go into it expecting to see a sci-fi spectacular then you'll probably be disappointed. A friend of mine once described Cronenberg's 'The Fly' as 'a love story in which a guy turns into a fly', and he was absolutely right about that. Well this is a movie about two people bonding in which there happens to be 'monsters' on the rampage. I'm not sure I'd go so far as to call it 'love', but I suppose you could. It also has elements of an adventure film, bizarrely reminding me in some ways of Walkabout or Cannibal Holocaust (two of my favourite films). I'd never heard of Scoot McNairy or Whitney Able before this, but I think both of them do a great job and you sense a genuine connection. And it's this connection which can make a movie, because I've seen a lot of low budget (and for that matter big budget) films which were technically every bit as good as this, but they lacked that something special to make you care. Well I definitely cared about these two and the fact the film floats along at a fairly laid back pace really didn't bother me, because I just wanted to see how their story turned out (and on that note, there is a twist, but I won't spoil it).
On a technical note, the soundtrack is excellent and it's very well filmed. It's well acted, moving, and for me it's one of those films that I needed to 'digest' afterwards, occasionally thinking about it again later that day. Perhaps it's not everybody's cup of tea, but I think over time the current rating of 6.4 will go up. For me it's almost an 8, but probably closer to a 7. Well worth a watch.
I won't spoil the film, but I will say that if you go into it expecting to see a sci-fi spectacular then you'll probably be disappointed. A friend of mine once described Cronenberg's 'The Fly' as 'a love story in which a guy turns into a fly', and he was absolutely right about that. Well this is a movie about two people bonding in which there happens to be 'monsters' on the rampage. I'm not sure I'd go so far as to call it 'love', but I suppose you could. It also has elements of an adventure film, bizarrely reminding me in some ways of Walkabout or Cannibal Holocaust (two of my favourite films). I'd never heard of Scoot McNairy or Whitney Able before this, but I think both of them do a great job and you sense a genuine connection. And it's this connection which can make a movie, because I've seen a lot of low budget (and for that matter big budget) films which were technically every bit as good as this, but they lacked that something special to make you care. Well I definitely cared about these two and the fact the film floats along at a fairly laid back pace really didn't bother me, because I just wanted to see how their story turned out (and on that note, there is a twist, but I won't spoil it).
On a technical note, the soundtrack is excellent and it's very well filmed. It's well acted, moving, and for me it's one of those films that I needed to 'digest' afterwards, occasionally thinking about it again later that day. Perhaps it's not everybody's cup of tea, but I think over time the current rating of 6.4 will go up. For me it's almost an 8, but probably closer to a 7. Well worth a watch.