Shearer: 'Monsters' is more drama than sci-fi

There's a reason why Emmy-nominated visual effects artist Gareth Edwards' debut feature film didn't appear in theaters nationwide this season. Although last year's Peter Jackson-produced runaway hit "District 9" was highly praised for incorporating a documentary-style approach and social commentary into an alien invasion picture, when all was said and done, it still carried many of the typical earmarks of modern science fiction filmmaking: multiple intense action sequences and loads of computer-generated special effects. These are the things audiences expect and are most comfortable with, and are likely to rake in a decent amount of box-office cash. It probably would be a bad idea to spend millions of dollars to mass-market a wide-release like Edwards' "Monsters." It's a somber, beautifully shot introspective character drama that just happens to be set against the near-constant threat of giant space creatures.

American photojournalist Andrew Kaulder (Scoot McNairy) is working in the "Infected Zone," more commonly known as present-day Mexico, when he is assigned the task of safely escorting his publisher's tourist daughter Samantha (Whitney Able) back to the States. The "infection" is the result of a space probe that crash-landed in Central America six years earlier carrying alien spores that hatched in the trees, crawled to the lakes and grew into 100-foot-tall, tentacled behemoths with a penchant for grabbing military planes out of the sky and throwing cars full of women and children around like they are toys. As the danger south of the border heats up, things become increasingly difficult for anyone attempting to enter the U.S., making Andrew and Samantha's journey deadlier by the hour.

In the hands of a Hollywood producer, "Monsters" still would have been a very entertaining film. After all, you've got a couple of good-looking leads with some romantic tension, the threat of impending death and the opportunity for all kinds of action sequences full of the latest CG eye candy. But writer-direc

Comment on "Shearer: 'Monsters' is more drama than sci-fi"