Sarah Jones
Photography Editor
Love and Monsters is a fun-filled adventure movie with some romance tacked on for good measure. The story follows Joel, played by Dylan O’Brien, as he crosses monster infested post-apocalyptic lands to find the love of his life. Love and Monsters was released Oct 16 2020 and it has an interesting story, a great setting and surprisingly well developed characters.
Joel fell in love with Aimee, played by Jessica Henwick, just as the world was taken over by chemically mutated monsters. He and Aimee have spent the last seven years separated by 85 miles and countless dangerous creatures. But after an attack on his home Joel decides to leave his adopted bunked family and go out into the world to find Aimee.
Joel finds that the world outside the bunker is surprisingly beautiful. Nature has taken over since man got eaten and those pockets where people still exist is filled with their art and creativity. The monsters may not be very beautiful but they are very creatively designed and very well rendered. In every scene and in every location there is a sense of hope, a feeling that the world and humanity still have a chance if someone is willing to fight for it.
Joel is an interesting character to watch develop. He goes from being a scared little boy with an idealized and unrealistic idea of love to being a man of quiet confidence and a genuine understanding of what love really means. Dylan O’Brian does a good job of making Joel funny and entertaining without making him a walking joke, bringing a lot of gravity to the more heartfelt scenes.
Aimee is equally cool. She is powerful, capable and has flaws which make her feel like a real person. Jessica Henwick does an impressive job making what would usually be a very flat character come to life. I am impressed by how Henwick uses body language and facial expressions to show the impact that seven years of fear and responsibility would have on a young adult.
Joel also meets other characters along the way, including Boy, Minnow, and Clyde. Boy is the worlds best dog who managed to have more backstory and pathos then a few of the human characters. Minnow (Ariana Greenblat) and Clyde(Michael Rooker) are fellow survivors that travel with Joel and teach him how to survive the outside world.
The story ends with a pirate attack, Aimee turning out to be a kick-ass bad-ass, and Joel deciding that the family he found throughout his adventure was just as important as the one he lost in the apocalypse. Love and Monsters is a sweet and powerful story of self discovery and the power of love.
Love and Monsters is available through Redbox (rental prices beginning at $1.80) and Amazon ($3.99 to rent, $17.99 to buy).
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