monsters film monsters british science fiction monster film written directed feature film directorial debut edwards served cinematographer production designer visual effects artist monsters takes place years nasa probe crash mexico led sudden appearance giant monsters follows played american tasked escorting employer daughter played whitney able crossing mexico creatures reside edwards conceived idea film seeing fishermen attempt bring creature net imagining monster inside pitched idea suggested watch search midnight kiss low budget film starring edwards cast whitney able lead roles principal photography lasted weeks production crew people filming took place countries locations permission extras people locations filming persuaded act dialogue improvised edwards provided outlines primary plot points monsters premiered south southwest march hours later acquired rights distribute north_america limited release beginning october followed theatrical release united_kingdom december film received generally positive reviews box office success grossing million budget monsters dark continent sequel released plot nasa deep space probe sent verify existence extraterrestrial life solar system crash lands mexico extraterrestrial life forms spread mexico united_states border region leading northern half mexico mexican troops battle contain creatures wall stretching american border ostensibly keeps protected american receives employer tasks andrew finding daughter whitney able escorting andrew samantha mexican hospital pair board train learning tracks ahead damaged discover leave country days sea air travel blocked months andrew samantha decide way coast andrew buys samantha expensive ferry ticket morning enjoying local andrew sex local girl steals unable board ferry samantha forced engagement ring passage zone travel transferred group armed escorts lead overland mexico border convoy attacked creatures andrew samantha escape guards survive continuing discover bodies dead travellers bond ancient pyramid sight border wall time reach border creatures broken travel ghost town texas find abandoned gas station power army help waiting help arrive phone calls respective families lone creature approaches station hiding samantha observes exploring inside store seemingly television light samantha quickly television creature loses interest creature appears communicate mate light creatures leave military arrives samantha andrew kiss rushed different vehicles chronological ending takes place beginning film filmed green night vision sight military rescue team attacked single creature production development attending university edwards short monster movie set initially wanted expand idea release believed going special anymore considering film low budget edwards decided embrace found footage style mix element original concept learning similar premise abandoned idea moved concept war going world cares edwards conceived film watching fishermen struggling haul net imagining monster inside idea monster movie set years monster movies end people aren running screaming life going giant dead sea monster considered completely normal pre production edwards pitched idea producer asked watch search midnight kiss example low budget filmmaking starred edwards impressed wanted real couple portray lead characters sent edwards picture girlfriend actress whitney able edwards initially thought good looking changed mind meeting cast filming film written directed served producers edwards storyboard script film wrote treatment story outlines detailed points needed hit dialogue filming equipment cost approximately production budget came way film able low budget largely production consumer grade level equipment instead professional instance film shot digital video cameras expensive film edited computer locations film permission extras people locations extras non actors persuaded film actions improvised film shot belize mexico guatemala costa_rica united_states weeks principal photography crew consisted seven people transported van edwards able sound operator line producer mexican driver editing effects night shooting editor assistant download footage memory sticks cleared ready day new footage captured previously filmed footage edited production team hotel filming concluded crew hours footage original cut hours long trimmed minutes months editing edwards originally ending film beginning end film producers disagreed placement decided chronological ending film beginning end film immediately andrew samantha kiss edwards created visual effects shelf software months create visual effects shots process undertook bedroom produced shots day reached creature shot suddenly months went hadn finished single creature shot edwards stated creatures visual effects challenging element production time constraints sound effects produced visual effects release monsters premiered south southwest film festival march film screened screened edinburgh international film festival june screened twice june film released russia september monsters later released united_states october canada november united_kingdom december weeks leading release marketing campaign social network announced cinemas set infected locations gave users access exclusive monsters content chance win random spot prizes box office hours film screening south southwest acquired distribution rights united_states executive stated blown away monsters thrilled bring vision american audiences shortly acquired rights distribute film canada monsters released countries september december grossed million worldwide ticket sales earning million united_kingdom russia mexico france united_states australia germany spain poland turkey united_kingdom film released united_kingdom december opening weekend monsters grossed theatres averaging theatre following weekend film dropped grossed decrease averaging subsequent weekends film grossed film concluded week run january gross north_america film released north_america october opening weekend monsters grossed theatres average theatre following weekend film screened theatres grossed additional weekend film expanded theatres grossed averaging theatre subsequent weekends film grossed additional december film concluded week run gross reception critical response monsters received generally positive reviews critics review aggregator website rotten_tomatoes reported approval rating average rating based reviews site consensus states doesn live intriguing premise monsters surprising blend alien invasion political themes relationship drama metacritic assigns normalized rating based reviews critics film score based reviews considered generally favorable reviews roger_ebert awarded film half stars praising focus characters relationships fear unseen menace visual effects acting commended edwards awe beauty creature designs writing guardian gave stars described film exciting sci movie concluded edwards channels strong streak wonder sight aliens apparently dancing chicago_tribune critical performances praised film considerable virtues premise ending new_york_times called film atmospheric praised edwards beautiful visual effects empire echoed comparison opining film exhibits lyrical jungle praised visual effects edwards cinematography chemistry able concluding film sci filmmaking best add ing original touches genre production design criticized tentative performances able stated overall picture globe_and_mail disagreed comparing lead actors chemistry sunrise praising pacing entertainment weekly gave film praising performances able commending edwards work conversely boston_globe gave film mixed review granting half stars praised score stated fascinating ambitions criticized main characters shallow los_angeles_times criticized weak plot forgettable dialogue sloppy politics called lead characters headed san_francisco_chronicle called able semi interesting pair disliked lack monsters film dialogue familiarity story washington_post called film compelling relationship drama criticizing predictable hiding monsters frightening accolades 13th british independent film awards monsters nominated categories including best director edwards best actor film won best director best achievement production edwards nominated outstanding debut british director lost lions won scream awards nominated film won 37th saturn awards named film independent films placed sci movies list sequel sequel monsters dark continent started filming march jordan detroit directing writing served executive producers starred film originally scheduled released november film release date moved february eventually released contrast monsters monsters dark continent received critics score review aggregator rotten_tomatoes based reviews
Monsters (2010 film)