Monsters (2010)

One of my favorite Sci-Fi films recently was District 9. It had such a fresh approach to aliens, and the fact it had a shoestring budget, made me appreciate what it accomplished.  I love to see a low budget movie succeed, like Napoleon Dynamite, Paranormal Activity, and even The Blair Witch Project. They turn Hollywood on it's head, and show that you don't need $100 million and a big name star, to make a successful film.


Monsters, should easily be in the same class as those mentioned before. It had a budget of only $15,000, 2 actors, and filmed on location (without permission asked in advance). All the extras were just people at the locations they were using to film. It brings a level of realism, that is hard to reproduce.


The premise is pretty original as well. Six years after an alien "infection", a large portion of Mexico, at the U.S. border, has been quarantined. A photo journalist named Andrew (Scoot McNairy), has been tasked with bringing his employer's daughter Sam (Whitney Able), home to the United States, from Central America. We don't get full back stories on Andrew and Sam, which works well here. We learn about the characters as they learn about each other. I've seen Monsters twice now, and look forward to another viewing. I highly recommend it.

Rated R, Runtime 94mns