From The Hunger Games to Divergent to The Maze Runner, I do enjoy a good young adult fantasy film so I was cautiously optimistic when Netflix released their monster adventure film Love and Monsters especially with Maze Runner star, Dylan O’Brien at the helm.
In order to prevent the Earth’s destruction from an approaching asteroid, scientists utilise a series of rockets to blow the rock apart. Although their plan worked, the chemical fallout causes all coldblooded animals, such as snails and frogs, to mutate into huge aggressive monsters and the world succumbs to the Monsterpocalypse. Joel Dawson’s home town of Fairfield is Ground Zero and in the chaos of the evacuation he is separated from his girlfriend Aimee and watches his parents die as they are crushed under a monsters leg.
Seven years later, Joel is living with a ‘colony’ in an underground bunker. Prone to freezing in dangerous situations, he is assigned to work as a cook whilst the others go on scavenging missions above the surface. Whilst all those around him are pairing off romantically, Joel still pines for his lost love. Against all odds, he reconnects with Aimee over the radio and discovers that she resides in a colony about 80 miles away.
When his bunker is breached by a giant ant and one of his colony is killed, Joel, against all sense and logic, sets out on a quest to reunite with his soulmate and ensure he doesn’t die alone. Can he overcome his fear, navigate his way past the monsters and find love again?
In much the same way that the Hunger Games was the launchpad for Jennifer Lawrence, Dylan O’Brien looked set to be Hollywood’s new ‘leading man’, building on the success of Maze Runner with key roles in the likes of Deepwater Horizon and American Assassin but an unfortunate accident on the set of the third and final instalment of his franchise resulted in facial fractures and brain trauma. Love and Monsters marks O’Brien’s return to the big screen and it is clear to see that he hasn’t lost any of his spark.
Spending a lot of the film on his own, unless you can’t the adorable pooch he picks up along the way, O’Brien carries the film squarely on his shoulders, with an endearingly charming and likeable presence on the screen, excellently balancing loveable goofball with action hero. He is supported, but not outshone, by a solid supporting cast including the likes of Michael Rooker and ‘one to watch’ Ariana Greenblatt.
The story itself, with it’s family friendly Zombieland vibes, moves along nicely at a steady pace, only pausing now and again to give Joel, and the viewers, a chance to reflect introspectively on his capabilities or externally on the natural beauty of the world around him. As soppy as that sounds, the ‘monster’ part of the film is also brilliantly done – even earning an Oscar nomination for its special effects.
From centipedes to snails, frogs to crabs it is the imaginative designs of the oversized creatures, coupled with the well executed action, that push this film from a rather run-of-the-mill love story into a surprisingly emotional, utterly entertaining watch perfect for any occasion. Date night? Check. Family night in? Check One for the dog? Check.
Love and Monsters is now available to stream on Netflix.
