"Love and Monsters" a post-apocalyptic creature feature/romance hybrid that charms

Love and Monsters (2020)

One might assume “Love and Monsters” was based on a post-apocalyptic book for young adults, but one would be wrong. Though it doesn’t feel wholly fresh in conception, the film is actually an original property developed by writer Brian Duffield—his feature debut, the dark teen comedy “Spontaneous,” is already one of this year’s best films—who co-wrote the script with Matthew Robinson. That no one has cooked something like this up already is surprising. Like “The Call of the Wild” with giant, mutated bug monsters or a kid-friendlier “Zombieland," “Love and Monsters” is an imaginative, comic-toned post-apocalyptic road saga/creature feature/romance hybrid that fits the bill.

For the last seven years, Joel Dawson (Dylan O’Brien) of Fairfield, California has been living in an underground bunker with a colony of survivors after asteroid Agatha 616 hit Earth. On the surface, 95% of mankind has been destroyed by mutant monsters, the result of chemical compounds in the rockets meant to nuke the asteroid raining back down and altering every cold-blooded animal. (Before this, all you needed to kill a cockroach was a shoe, but now you need a tank.) Joel—the only sexually inactive singleton in his bunker—has a tendency to freeze out of fear when encountering a monster attack, so he’s not always taken seriously, and his only skill is making minestrone soup. Still pining for his high school sweetheart Aimee (Jessica Henwick) and occasionally still talking to her via radio from her own colony, Joel vows to not get eaten and travel 85 miles to be with her.

There seems to be more room for world-building if time permitted, but even just as an efficient one-and-done, “Love and Monsters” is a one-stop source of entertainment. As the film glides from genre to genre with an upbeat propulsion, director Michael Matthews (2018’s “Five Fingers for Marseilles”) does handle the tonal shifts, from self-deprecating narration to monster attacks to leech poison-induced psychedelic trips and lovesick reunions, with enough ease. The journey is enjoyably happy-go-lucky without fully detracting from the level of a threat. Not far into his trek, Joel is saved from a massive, slimy bullfrog by a dog named Boy, left to his own devices in an abandoned school bus after his owner is gone (Boy lugging around his owner’s red dress as a security blanket is a nice touch). The viewer cares so much about Joel and Boy, and the filmmakers never force Boy to have an inner-voice conversation with Joel; the pup is just adorable on his own. It is a real testament to the dog trainers for Hero and Dodge, who both play Boy, because both pooches can go down in the record books for delivering one of the best dog performances. 

No stranger to carrying a whole movie, Dylan O’Brien (2017’s “American Assassin”) is sympathetic, vulnerable, and even charming with comic timing as Joel, our relatable guide through this bleak end of the world. His arc throughout is clear and earned, O’Brien nailing the emotional beats and the moments of derring-do that make Joel feel like Tom Cruise. Falling into a pit of Sand Gobblers, Joel gets saved once again by orphan Minnow (Ariana Greenblatt) and father figure Clyde (Michael Rooker), who teach him apocalyptic survival skills. One does wish Minnow and Clyde figured more into the proceedings than they do, but they do lift up the film’s midsection with their appealing interplay. Another grace note: Joel’s confession time spent with the delightful MAV1S, an empathic robot offering advice before her battery life powers down forever, is unexpectedly moving.

So, for a movie called “Love and Monsters,” how is the love and how are the monsters? The film takes the Joel-Aimee relationship seriously and handles it with maturity. Without forgetting how much time has passed and what the state of affairs are, Joel might be holding on to feelings from the happier past. When Aimee and Joel do eventually reunite, it is sweet but refreshingly bittersweet. And then the monsters. Beautifully designed with detail (probably not unlike Joel’s color-penciled sketches of them in his survival book), the monsters—a blend of CGI and practical effects—look spectacular and imposing. Two standout sequences, one in a forest with a giant ant and another with a slimy earth-dweller near a river, are suspenseful, frightening and fun, and the finale with a giant crustacean on a beach is thrillingly staged. By ushering in a more human monster in the third act, the film not only places the actual monsters in a better light but pays off a running joke where everyone prematurely assumes Joel was kicked out of his colony for stealing food. Released into an apocalyptic year, “Love and Monsters” is a pleasant surprise that could have done some solid business as a summer blockbuster. 

Grade: B

Paramount Pictures will release “Love and Monsters” (109 min.) on premium video on demand on October 16, 2020.