Love and Monsters Movie Storyline. Seven years after the Monsterpocalypse, Joel Dawson (Dylan O’Brien), along with the rest of humanity, has been living underground ever since giant creatures took control of the land. After reconnecting over radio with his high school girlfriend Aimee (Jessica Henwick), who is now 80 miles away at a coastal colony, Joel begins to fall for her again. As Joel realizes that there’s nothing left for him underground, he decides against all logic to venture out to Aimee, despite all the dangerous monsters that stand in his way. The fun-filled and action-packed adventure also stars Michael Rooker and Ariana Greenblatt.
Love and Monsters is a 2020 American monster adventure film directed by Michael Matthews, with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen serving as producers. The film stars Dylan O’Brien, Jessica Henwick, Dan Ewing, Michael Rooker and Ariana Greenblatt. Development began in 2012 as Monster Problems, the project lingered for several years until in October 2018, O’Brien and then Matthews joined the film. The rest of the cast joined over the next few months, and filming took place in Australia from March to May 2019.
Love and Monsters was originally going to receive a wide theatrical release by Paramount Pictures in February 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the studio opted to release the film digitally via video on demand, and in select theaters, on October 16, 2020. The film received generally positive reviews from critics. At the 93rd Academy Awards, the film was nominated for Best Visual Effects, but lost to Tenet.
About the Story
The destruction of an asteroid headed for Earth releases chemical fallout, causing cold-blooded animals to mutate into large monsters and kill off most of humanity. During the evacuation of Fairfield, Joel Dawson is separated from his girlfriend Aimee but promises to find her, shortly before his parents are killed.
Seven years later, Joel lives in one of many bunkers underground called “colonies”, where all survivors but he have romantically paired up with each other while fighting monsters and seeking supplies. Joel instead is left behind in the kitchen, as he freezes in dangerous situations. When a giant ant breaches his colony, killing Connor, Joel sets off on a quest to reunite with Aimee so he doesn’t end up alone.
Passing through the suburbs, Joel is attacked by a giant toad-monster but is saved by a stray dog named “Boy”, who follows Joel on his journey, warning him against poisonous berries and other dangers. Joel falls into a nest of worm-monsters called “Sand-Gobblers”, when two survivors, Clyde Dutton and Minnow, rescue him. They are heading north to the mountains, where fewer monsters live due to the colder weather and higher elevation. They teach Joel some basic survival skills, and that not all monsters are hostile, demonstrating how “You can always tell in their eyes”. They invite Joel to stay with them, but he insists he must find Aimee. As they part ways, Clyde gives Joel a grenade.
Continuing west, Boy becomes trapped by a giant centipede-monster. Joel freezes, but eventually saves Boy with his crossbow. Sheltering in an abandoned motel, they meet a robot named Mav1s. Before her battery dies, Mav1s powers his radio long enough to briefly contact Aimee. Other survivors have reached her colony, promising to lead them to safety. The next day Joel and Boy are attacked by a Queen Sand-Gobbler. They hide, but Boy barks, giving away their position. Joel kills the Queen with the grenade. He yells at Boy for putting them in danger, causing Boy to run away. After swimming across a pond, Joel is covered in poisonous leeches and hallucinates, but is rescued before he collapses.
Joel wakes to finally see Aimee. She leads a beach colony of elderly survivors who depend on her. He is introduced to the survivors, Cap, and his crew. As everyone celebrates their imminent departure, Aimee confesses she is glad to see Joel, but has become a different person and is still mourning someone. Joel decides to return to his colony, contacting them on the radio and learning that it has become unsafe and that they too must leave. Cap sends Joel some berries, which he recognizes as poisonous. Realizing Cap is not to be trusted, he rushes to warn Aimee but is knocked unconscious.
Joel, Aimee, and the rest of her colony awaken tied-up on the beach. Cap reveals that his group is there to steal supplies and that their yacht is towed by a crab-monster controlled with an electrified chain. Cap sets the crab to feed on the colonists, but Joel and Aimee escape and are able to fight for their lives, and Boy returns to help. Joel has the opportunity to kill the crab, but he realizes it is not hostile by looking into its eyes, and shoots the electrified chain, freeing it. The crab leaves Joel unharmed and instead kills Cap and his crew, sinking the yacht in the process.
Love and Monsters (2020)
Directed by: Michael Matthews
Starring: Dylan O’Brien, Jessica Henwick, Michael Rooker, Dan Ewing, Ariana Greenblatt, Ellen Hollman, Tre Hale, Pacharo Mzembe, Senie Priti, Amali Golden, Hazel Phillips
Screenplay by: Brian Duffield, Matthew Robinson
Production Design by: Dan Hennah
Cinematography by: Lachlan Milne
Film Editing by: Debbie Berman, Nancy Richardson
Costume Design by: Luis Sequeira
Set Decoration by: Kathryn Lim
Art Direction by: Mark Dawson, Bianca Harrison
Music by: Marco Beltrami, Marcus Trumpp
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for action/violence, language and some suggestive material.
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: October 16, 2020
Views: 114
