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Love and Monsters (film)

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Love and Monsters
Official release poster
Directed byMichael Matthews
Screenplay by
Story byBrian Duffield
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyLachlan Milne
Edited by
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • October 16, 2020 (2020-10-16)
Running time
109 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million[2]
Box office$593,964[3]

Love and Monsters (formerly known as Monster Problems) is a 2020 American post-apocalyptic adventure film directed by Michael Matthews, with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen serving as producers. The film stars Dylan O'Brien, Michael Rooker, Ariana Greenblatt and Jessica Henwick. It was released by Paramount Pictures via video on demand and in select theaters on October 16, 2020. The film received positive reviews.

Plot

After destroying an asteroid headed for Earth, the chemical fallout causes all cold blooded animals to mutate into monsters. During the evacuation of Fairfield, Joel Dawson (Dylan O'Brien) is separated from his girlfriend Aimee (Jessica Henwick), but promises he'll find her. Seven years later, Joel has survived and is living in an underground bunker. Others in the colony fight monsters and scavenge supplies but Joel is left behind in the kitchen, as he freezes-up in dangerous situations. Joel makes radio contact with Aimee, learning of her colony and sharing stories of survival. When an ant-monster breaches his colony and another person is killed, Joel sets off on a quest to find Aimee.

Passing through the suburbs Joel is attacked by a giant toad, but is saved by a stray dog. The dog, called Boy, follows Joel on his journey, and warns him against poisonous berries and other dangers. Joel falls into a nest of worm-monsters, but Clyde Dutton (Michael Rooker) and Minnow (Ariana Greenblatt), rescue him from the "Sand-Gobblers" and scold him for his lack of survival skills. They are heading north, where the colder weather and elevation means less monsters. They teach Joel some basic survival skills. Clyde teaches Joel that not all monsters will attack, showing him a Boulder Snail and saying that "You can always tell in their eyes". After some further travel they invite Joel to go with them to the mountains but Joel insist he must find Aimee. As they part ways, Clyde gifts Joel with a grenade.

As Joel continue west, Boy becomes trapped by a giant centipede-monster. Joel freezes, but eventually shoots the monster with his crossbow and saves Boy. They shelter in an abandoned motel, and meet a robot named Mav1s (Melanie Zanetti). Mav1s is able to show Joel photos of his parents, and power his radio long enough to contact Aimee. He learns that she is close, and that new survivors have reached their colony and promised to lead them away to safety, but Joel loses contact. As Mav1s plays music and watches the luminous sky jellies float by, her battery finally dies. In the morning Joel and Boy are attacked by a Queen Sand-Gobbler. They hide but Boy makes noise, giving away their position. Joel kills the Queen with the grenade, but yells at Boy for putting them in danger, and Boy runs away. After swimming across the river Joel is covered in leeches, which poison him and cause hallucinations, but he is rescued before he passes out.

Joel wakes up in Aimee's colony, where she is the leader and most of the colonists are elderly and dependent on her. Joel is introduced to the new survivors, Cap (Dan Ewing) and his crew. Cap has offered to take the colony to safety on their yacht. Everyone is packing up and having a farewell party. Aimee is glad to see Joel but not ready to restart their relationship. Joel decides to return to his colony and contacts them on the radio, they are pleased he has survived, but the colony has become unsafe and they will have to leave soon. Cap sends Joel some berries, which he recognizes as poisonous. Realizing Cap was lying to them, he rushes to warn Aimee, but everyone is already intoxicated and then he is knocked unconscious. They all awaken tied-up on the beach. Cap reveals his group is not there to help but to steal supplies. Their yacht is not powered by fossil fuel, but towed by a crab-monster that Cap controls with an electrified chain. Cap sets the crab to feed on the colonists. Joel and Aimee get loose and fight for their lives, Boy returns during battle, and Cap and his crew escape to their yacht. Cap electrocutes the crab to provoke it to attack. Joel has the opportunity to kill the crab, but looks into its eyes, and instead shoots the electrified chain, freeing the crab from Cap's control. The crab leaves Joel unharmed and instead kills Cap and his team and sinks the yacht.

Joel decides to head back to his colony, and recommends Aimee and her colony head north to the safer colony in the mountains. They share a goodbye kiss, reigniting Aimee's love for Joel, and she tells him she'll find him. Joel treks all the way back to find his original colony and his friends are still alive. They too decide to head north. Joel broadcasts his story and survival tips on the radio, inspiring other colonies to take to the surface. As everyone heads north, Clyde and Minnow, alive and well on the mountaintop, wonder if Joel will survive the next journey.

Cast

Production

In June 2012, it was announced that Paramount Pictures was developing the film Monster Problems, with Shawn Levy producing, based on a spec script by Brian Duffield. It was described as a post-apocalyptic road movie in the vein of Mad Max and Zombieland with a John Hughes-esque love story.[4]

In October 2018, it was announced that Dylan O'Brien was in talks to star, and that Michael Matthews was directing the film.[5] By March 2019, Michael Rooker and Ariana Greenblatt had joined O'Brien.[6][7] In April 2019, it was announced that Jessica Henwick had joined the cast.[8] Also in April, Australian actor Dan Ewing joined the film in a supporting role.[9] Principal photography started in Gold Coast on March 25, 2019, and ended in May 2019.[10][11]

Producer Shawn Levy said the film "benefited immensely" from the work of cinematographer Lachlan Milne, with whom he had previous worked on Stranger Things.[12] Stunts were coordinated by Glenn Suter who had worked with O'Brien when he returned to complete the third Maze Runner film, after having experienced a serious accident during a stunt.[13] The stunts were a challenge for Henwick because she had to work to look less competent, despite years of training for the Marvel television shows.[14] The dogs were trained by Zelie Bullen, the main dog was called Hero, and his double was called Dodge.[13][15]

The visual effects for the film were done by The Mill and MPC LA.[citation needed]

Release

The film was originally slated to release on March 6, 2020, but in October 2019, the release date was moved to April 17, 2020.[16] In February 2020, it was moved again, to February 12, 2021.[17]

In August 2020, Paramount announced that due to COVID-19 pandemic the film would be released via video on demand on October 16, 2020. The film's title was changed from Monster Problems to Love and Monsters.[18] The film also played in 387 theaters for the weekend of October 16-18, 2020.[19]

Reception

Box office and VOD

In its debut weekend, Love and Monsters was the number one most rented film on FandangoNow and Apple TV.[2] The film also played in 387 theaters alongside its VOD release, and grossed $255,000 in its opening weekend.[20] In its second weekend, the film finished second at Apple TV, third at Fandango, and eighth at Spectrum.[21]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 93% based on 58 reviews, with an average rating of 7.19/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Led by a charming star turn from Dylan O'Brien, Love and Monsters peers into the apocalypse and finds an action-adventure with surprising emotional depth."[22] On Metacritic it has a weighted average score of 59 out of 100, based on reviews from 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[23]

Jessica Kiang of Variety called it: "A fun if forgettable family-friendly adventure comedy set in a "monsterpocalypse." Who said the end of the world had to be a downer?" Kiang notes that the film is based on an original script but feels familiar as if it was adapted from existing material because it fits into the coming-of age genre and references various other films such as I Am Legend, A Boy and His Dog, Zombieland, Tremors and Stand by Me.[24] John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "The movie's last act offers complications both expected and surprising. For the most part, it satisfies, especially in what proves to be the pic's most elaborate action sequence."[25]

References

  1. ^ "Dylan O'Brien's Monster Problems, Clifford Backed by Paramount, eOne". Variety. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Brueggemann, Tom (October 19, 2020). "Paramount Takes 'Love and Monsters' to PVOD and It's a Hit". IndieWire. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  3. ^ "Love and Monsters (2020)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  4. ^ Kit, Borys (June 15, 2012). "Paramount Developing Post-Apocalyptic Road Movie with Shawn Levy (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  5. ^ Kit, Borys (October 22, 2018). "Dylan O'Brien in Talks to Star in 'Monster Problems' for Paramount Players". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  6. ^ Fleming Jr, Mike (March 20, 2019). "Michael Rooker Set To Star In Monster Problems For Paramount Players". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  7. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 22, 2019). "Ariana Greenblatt Joins Dylan O'Brien In Paramount Players' Monster Problems". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  8. ^ Kit, Borys (April 1, 2019). "'Iron Fist' Actress Jessica Henwick Joins Dylan O'Brien in 'Monster Problems' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  9. ^ Sneider, Jeff (April 11, 2019). "Exclusive: 'Home and Away' Star Dan Ewing Joins Dylan O'Brien in Monster Problems". Collider. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  10. ^ "QUEENSLAND'S GOT MONSTER PROBLEMS". AusFilm.com.
  11. ^ "Monster Problems to be filmed in Queensland". Mumbrella. February 10, 2019.
  12. ^ JOE DECKELMEIER (October 26, 2020). "Shawn Levy Interview: Love and Monsters". ScreenRant.
  13. ^ a b Brian Davids (October 16, 2020). "Dylan O'Brien on 'Love and Monsters' and His Viral 'The Social Network' Video with Sarah Ramos". The Hollywood Reporter.
  14. ^ Brian Davids (October 15, 2020). "Jessica Henwick on 'Love and Monsters,' 'The Matrix 4' and Pitching 'Jess Wick' to Keanu Reeves". The Hollywood Reporter.
  15. ^ Anna Menta (October 16, 2020). "'Love and Monsters' Director Says Dylan O'Brien Was Distracted Playing With The Movie's Dog". Decider.
  16. ^ Pendersen, Erik (October 23, 2019). "Monster Problems: Paramount Moves Dylan O'Brien Pic To Pre-Summer Slot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  17. ^ "Controversial Gang Saga 'Blue Story' Release Date Moved By Paramount". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  18. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 20, 2020). "Dylan O'Brien Paramount Love And Monsters Movie Heading To PVOD". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  19. ^ Fuster, Jeremy (October 18, 2020). "Liam Neeson's 'Honest Thief' Opens to $3.7 Million as 'Tenet' Crosses $50 Million at Box Office". TheWrap. Retrieved October 18, 2020. Paramount released the romantic creature feature "Love and Monsters" day-and-date on both PVOD and in 387 theaters, grossing $255,000.
  20. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 18, 2020). "Liam Neeson Action Pic 'Honest Thief' Nabbing $4M+ Total By Sunday; 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' Awakens – Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  21. ^ Brueggemann, Tom (October 26, 2020). "'After We Collided' Is a Smash with Small Pricetag, While 'Unhinged' Makes Its PVOD Debut". IndieWire. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  22. ^ "Love and Monsters (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  23. ^ "Love and Monsters Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  24. ^ Kiang, Jessica (October 14, 2020). "'Love and Monsters' Review: Fun Times During the End Times". Variety (magazine).
  25. ^ DeFore, John (October 14, 2020). "'Love and Monsters': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
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