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Rating: 4.25 out of 5
Love can make you do some crazy shit. Love can have your mind all over the place and make you think you can take on the world. There is nothing like being in love. Looking into the eyes of someone you care about. When they smile, you get butterflies in your stomach. When you kiss, it sets your very soul on fire. Hell, love will make you go on a journey after an asteroid attack that transformed all creatures into ravenous killing machines that roam the land, killing you while you run for safety. Then it will have you take on giant leeches and worms and ants that rip people in half and drink the blood of your comrades, only for you to cower in a corner in the safety of a bunker. Sorry, went off on a tangent right there. Where was I? Oh yea, we were talking about love. Well, I have a movie for you about love that has some monsters in it. How about a film set in a post-apocalyptic dystopian where a lovesick young man decides to find his love through a world of killer monsters? You are in for a treat with Love and Monsters.
The world has gone to absolute shit. As an asteroid was headed to Earth, the world managed to destroy the threat. Still, its destructions released chemicals, causing cold-blooded animals to mutate into giant monsters and kill off most of humanity. Once again, the world has gone to shit. Seven years after the Monsterpocalypse, Joel Dawson (O’Brien), along with the rest of humanity, has been living underground ever since giant creatures took control of the land. Joel is the only single member of his colony, as the rest have paired up. Feeling like his life is meaningless, he manages to reconnect with his long-lost high school girlfriend, Aimee (Henwick). She is now 80 miles away at a coastal colony. Deciding that love is more important, Joel musters up all his courage. He decides to venture out onto the Earth’s surface and face all dangers to meet Aimee again. Even though seven freakin years is a long ass time. Hey, love will make you do crazy things.
After watching Love and Monsters, the concept and story are pretty cute. It’s not over the top, nor is it bland. It actually is a really nice blend of sci-fi, romance, and dystopian, all nicely rolled up. I feel like the film knows what it is and decided to keep the story really simple for everyone to follow. Many themes play on what it means to be in a relationship and love and what happens when things don’t work out. Joel is separated from his girlfriend Aimee but promises to find her shortly before his parents are killed. Freakin seven years pass with Joel living in one of many bunkers underground. Seeing everyone being in a relationship, he decides to search for Aimee. Trying to not give too much but Joel experiences rejection but also mortality. Mortality was a unique topic in this film as Joel sits with a Mav1s. Before her battery dies, they sit outside and watch jellyfish-type creatures float across the air. It was a very touching scene.
What I like about Love and Monsters is that it is a classic love story where a boy and his dog travel across and battle monsters. What is great about it is that Joel is so naïve to the outside world since he has been underground for so long that he should’ve been killed within thirty seconds. Yet, the dog named Boys knows way more about dangers. Also, along the way, with most love adventure movies, the boy gets help from an unlikely pair. In this film, Joel happens to be saved by two survivors, Clyde Dutton and Minnow. Once again, Joel should’ve been killed, but it’s a love story. Clyde and Minnow know how to survive. They teach Joel some basic survival skills and that not all monsters are hostile, demonstrating how “You can always tell in their eyes.” Once again, this is a theme that not all animals are murderous, and if you look in their eyes, you will know. I look into my turtle’s eyes, and I can see food in them. Ironically, before the group split, they give him a grenade because Joel needs to find his love.
How can we talk about a monster movie and not talk about the actual creatures? In this film, the monsters are actually creatures we see every day. We see ants, slugs, and leeches, and god knows what else. The destruction of an asteroid transformed these creatures into Godzilla-type animals. Well, as you guessed it, Joel needs to fight against some of these monsters. At the beginning of the film, the ant scene is crazy. The scene that showed the danger was when Joel fought against a Queen Sand-Gobbler. That thing looked like I was watching tremors. It was big and nasty. The crab scene was also crazy. Honestly, every monster was creepy and gave me the willies.
Honestly, this film goes with the performance of Dylan O’Brien as Joel Dawson. O’Brien has been on the rise since the Maze Runner series. I liked him in Teen Wolf because that used to be my show back in the day until it became all creepy and strange. Sorry for getting sidetracked. O’Brien played Joel perfectly because he has that comedic charm and lovable swagger to pull it off. I like how his character evolved by writing on all the monsters and what he learned in a journal. He didn’t seem out of place in this film and just went with the flow as he met other supporting cast members.
Love and Monsters is a cute movie to watch. It is not over the top and has a simple, classic story of a boy going 80 miles to be with someone he loves. After seven years, you know things have significantly changed. Dylan O’Brien is excellent as Joel and has the charm and swagger to be a massive star. Enjoy this film and the monsters that will creep out.
