Love and Monsters (2020) Review

 "Good instincts are earned by making mistakes."
-Clyde Dutton



Seven years after the world is overrun by monsters, Joel Dawson (Dylan O'Brien) discovers that his high school sweetheart, Aimee (Jessica Henwick), is still alive and only 80 miles away.  With limited supplies and survival knowhow, Joel leaves the safety of his bunker and embarks on a dangerous quest for love.


What Works:

Dylan O'Brien is an actor I've always enjoyed and he gives his best performance I've seen here.  He's extremely funny with some excellent sarcastic line delivery, but he isn't just funny.  Every so often we get some major emotional depth from him that makes Joel extremely relatable.  He just doesn't want to be alone at the end of the world.  He's an easy person to root for and a fun character to go on this journey with.

The supporting cast is also great with the highlights being Michael Rooker and Arianna Greenblatt as two survivalists Joel meets in the wilderness.  Both of them are also very funny and pick on Joel quite a bit, but they also teach him how to survive and are much more than just comic relief.  They don't have a ton of screen time, but I really enjoyed what we got from them.

I love the design of the monsters in this movie.  All of them are very unique and none of them are generic.  They were regular animals that got mutated, so all of the creatures are based on real-life creatures, which makes them more terrifying.  They are also some of the grossest monsters I have ever seen, which I wasn't expecting for what I thought might be a typical Young Adult, post-apocalypse movie.  But this movie goes far with the goop and slime, which is always fun.

The post-apocalyptical world is awesome and feels real.  I loved seeing all of the run down motels and campers Joel comes across and it feels a lot more authentic than something like The Walking Dead.  I appreciate that the studio gave the filmmakers enough of a budget to bring this world to life.

Finally, the emotional scenes are few and far between, but when they hit, they hit hard.  I like that this is a mostly fun, light-hearted adventure, but the emotional moments give the film emotional stakes, which only elevates the story around it.  


What Sucks:

My only complaint is that I wish that the members of Joel's group at the beginning of the movie were developed at all.  They all feel like background extras.  This makes it easier to understand why Joel goes on his quest, but I think a little more development couldn't have hurt.


Verdict:

Love and Monsters is a really fun movie with awesome monsters, solid writing, great world-building, and excellent performances, especially from Dylan O'Brien.  A few characters are underdeveloped, but this movie has still got it going on.

 9/10: Great 

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