Hollywood is no stranger to all manner of post-apocalyptic dystopian movies, but Paramount's new film Love and Monsters takes the genre in a much more light-hearted direction, following a lovesick young man as he ventures through a world of monsters. Directed by Michael Matthews (Five Fingers for Marseilles) from a script by Brian Duffield (The Babysitter) and Matthew Robinson (Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Monster Trucks) from a story by Duffield, it's set in a post-apocalyptic world where much of humanity has died out and Earth is overrun with giant creatures. Love and Monsters may not be a wholly fresh concept, but a clever script and Dylan O'Brien's charm make for a super fun adventure comedy.
In Love and Monsters, O'Brien stars as Joel Dawson, a 24-year-old who's been living in a bunker underground with a group of fellow survivors since the 'Monsterpocalypse' seven years prior. When he reconnects with his high school girlfriend Aimee (Jessica Henwick) over radio, he impulsively decides to travel the 85 miles to her colony and reunite with his love. The problem is, Joel doesn't have much in the way of fighting skills or killer instincts. That doesn't deter him, though, and thankfully he meets up with a dog named Boy who helps keep him safe, and a pair of survivors - Clyde (Michael Rooker) and Minnow (Ariana Greenblatt) - who teach him how to stay alive. Although Joel must contend with the monsters on the surface of the Earth, he's also facing the insecurity of whether he made the right decision to leave his colony and find Aimee, and it remains to be seen whether he'll survive the monsters - or his love.
Although Love and Monsters is somewhat of a high concept sci-fi story, it works because it follows classic conventions and explores universal themes of love, rejection and discovering where you belong in the world. It doesn't go too deep into these themes, but there's enough exploration of the human experience in Love and Monsters to give it some depth, making it more substantial than just monster movie spectacle. It also helps that Love and Monsters is anchored around a classic type of story, that being a boy and his dog - though in this case, Joel and Boy are battling scary monsters. This helps to ground the movie in a compelling dynamic, while giving Joel someone to interact with when he's not around other people. In the end, Love and Monsters is a delightful mix of poignant human story and monster movie spectacle, even if it sometimes strains under the labor of balancing these elements.
Much of what makes Love and Monsters work so well is actually O'Brien's star turn. The actor was a breakout star from MTV's Teen Wolf TV show, playing the nerdy and sarcastic best friend Stiles, and O'Brien brings a little of that same charm to his Love and Monsters role as Joel. O'Brien delivers an excellent comedic performance, but also has the range to play the more serious moments, making Joel a well-rounded character. The actor can even carry off a one-sided conversation with a dog without it going too cartoonish. With few other characters in Love and Monsters, let alone very many supporting roles, the movie is O'Brien's to shoulder and he proves himself an exceptionally talented lead. He's further supported by Henwick, Rooker and Greenblatt, who all work well with O'Brien to cultivate compelling dynamics on screen. But they themselves aren't given too much to work with. Love and Monsters is O'Brien's movie to make or break, and he's charming, funny and fascinating enough to make it work.
While Duffield's script goes a long way in putting a fresh spin on the apocalyptic dystopian story in Love and Monsters, there's certain elements that feel a bit stale - or, at least, too reminiscent of other movies' gimmicks. For instance, Joel's narration (established as letters he's penning to Aimee) coupled with Clyde's lessons about staying alive feel all too similar to Zombieland's rules and Jesse Eisenberg's delivery of them. That's not to say Love and Monsters is a ripoff of Zombieland, but it goes to show that Matthews' movie is entering an incredibly crowded genre and doesn't do quite enough to set itself apart as wholly original. Perhaps its most endearing quality - beyond O'Brien's Joel and his relationship with the dog Boy - is that it delivers realistic looking monsters, using a mix of practical effects and CGI, that harkens back to monster movies of the 80s. Ultimately, Love and Monsters attempts, but doesn't quite succeed in delivering the quirky, irreverent and one-of-a-kind apocalypse comedy-adventure it clearly wants to be.
Perhaps it's for the best, then, that Love and Monsters moved from a theatrical release in early 2021 to an on-demand debut this Fall. While the monster spectacle and sprawling apocalyptic landscapes would look great on a big screen, there's something perfect in releasing a movie about leaving a bunker and venturing into a new, scary world at this moment in time. For those who don't quite feel safe enough to return to the theaters, Love and Monster offers that escapist experience, trading a pandemic for a Monsterpocalypse. As such, Love and Monsters is definitely worth checking out for those craving a new movie and want to go on a lighthearted adventure. It's not necessarily a must-see movie, but those who give Love and Monsters a chance will no doubt be won over by this delightful distraction from our own scary world.
Love and Monsters releases on Premium Video-On-Demand Friday, October 16. It is 108 minutes long and rated PG-13 for action/violence, language and some suggestive material.
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