Disaster films set in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future defined a huge portion of 1980s movie culture and have grown increasingly popular among filmmakers in this last decade. Michael Matthews’ dystopian setting finds its uniqueness within its detachment from Hollywood’s latest giant monster brawl craze.
From an idea originally conceived at Paramount pictures in 2012 -which was supposed to depict a hybrid road trip/disaster movie with a romantic twist a la Mad Max and Zombieland, Love & Monsters' narrative centers on humanity's ancestral understanding of being at the top of the food chain, a scenario that has been the status quo for these last 50,000 years.
However, the highly weaponized collective effort of Earth’s superpowers to strike down Agatha 616—the asteroid threatening life on the planet—ends up bringing a massive change to the current state of affairs. Thanks to a ricochet made of radioactive spores, most of the insects and amphibians are genetically mutated into oversized, and potentially lethal creatures.
The main dissimilarity with a considerable number of rather predictable monster films storyline is that, in this instance, monsters have the upper hand and are not taking sides. It is an accurate representation of the proverbial survival of the fittest.
After 7 long years of resistance in a perpetual unwinnable war with a new undefeatable dominant species, humans have been decimated and whatever is left of the world’s population is now living in underground bunkers and colonies. Joel, (Dylan O’ Brien) a young man in his mid-20s who lost his parents and now lives in a shelter with his new family, manages to keep in touch with Amiee, (Jessica Henwick) his girlfriend from high school. He frequently reminisces about their long-lost happy times together prior to the monster-pocalypse.
In order to rekindle their relationship, despite his apparent lack of courage, he manages to find the emotional strength necessary to embark on a perilous quest on the Earth's surface along with a few trusted friends along the way. Highly Recommended.