Love and Monsters arrived in October 2020 with a title that promises romance and a poster full of teeth. Michael Matthews directs a script by Matthew Robinson and Brian Duffield, and the film runs 109 minutes. It is an adventure comedy with a fantasy streak, tagged as “an apocalyptic love story.”
Trailer, via Paramount Pictures.
Joel Dawson and the Monsterpocalypse
The setup is efficient. An asteroid hits Earth, its chemicals mutate cold-blooded animals into giants, and most of humanity dies. Joel Dawson (Dylan O’Brien) loses his parents during the evacuation of Fairfield and is separated from his girlfriend Aimee (Jessica Henwick). Seven years on, he lives in an underground bunker, freezes in danger, and cooks while braver survivors fight. When a giant ant breaches the colony, Joel leaves to find Aimee rather than end up alone.
The road west gives the film its best material. A giant toad attacks Joel in the suburbs; a stray dog called Boy saves him and tags along. Joel falls into a nest of worm monsters, the “sand gobblers,” and is pulled out by Clyde Dutton (Michael Rooker) and Minnow (Ariana Greenblatt), who are heading north to the mountains where fewer monsters live. They teach him survival skills and the idea that not all monsters are hostile. Clyde gives him a grenade when they part.
Clyde, Minnow and a Robot Named Mav1s
A giant centipede traps Boy, Joel freezes, and then he saves the dog with his crossbow. That beat lands because the film has earned it. Later, in an abandoned motel, a robot named Mav1s powers his radio long enough to reach Aimee before her battery dies.
The supporting cast is deep: Dan Ewing as Cap, Ellen Hollman as Dana, Tre Hale as Rocko, Pacharo Mzembe as Ray, Senie Priti as Karen, Amali Golden as Ava, Te Kohe Tuhaka as Tim, Tasneem Roc as Anna Lucia.
Development started in 2012 under the title Monster Problems and sat for years until October 2018, when O’Brien and then Matthews signed on. The rest of the cast filled in over the following months, and filming ran in Australia from March to May 2019.
Paramount planned a wide theatrical release for March 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic changed that. The studio moved the film to digital video on demand and select theaters on October 16, 2020. Netflix handled the international release, putting it on its service on April 14, 2021.
Awards and the Score
The film drew generally positive reviews and a nomination for Best Visual Effects at the 93rd Academy Awards.
An apocalyptic love story.
Here is the shape of the release:
| Date | Release |
|---|---|
| March 2020 | Planned wide theatrical release (Paramount) |
| October 16, 2020 | Digital video on demand and select theaters |
| April 14, 2021 | Netflix international release |
What matters here is not the monster count. The creature work earned an Academy Award nomination, and it is the film’s clearest strength. What holds Love and Monsters back is that its best ideas — Clyde and Minnow, the dog, the dying robot — are episodes Joel walks away from, while the reunion the whole journey depends on stays thin. The movie is charming and forgettable in nearly equal measure.
6.3 of 10.
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