So many monster movies have been made that it is nice to find one with a fresh premise, striking originality and genuine optimism.  Such a film is Love and Monsters, which, with its PG-13 rating, is pretty appropriate for adolescents as well as grown-up kids like myself.  And I think if I were still young and innocent this movie would have even more appeal for me.

Michael Matthews’ film posits a monster apocalypse caused by the chemical fallout from blowing a killer meteor out of the sky.  Seven years after the world changes most of the population is gone and monsters roam the globe.  Joel (Dylan O’Brien), a young man at a missile outpost with other survivors learns that a girl he likes is still alive at another colony about eighty-five miles away, and determines to reconnect with her.  His trek across the wilderness comprises much of the story, but the script stresses human nature over action and actually has things to say about the importance of friendship, finding one’s path in life and facing one’s fears.

Joel meets travelers on the way (Michael Rooker and Ariana Greenblatt) who teach him about the dangers, he is adopted by the world’s greatest dog, and all is not as it seems when he reaches the coastal compound where Aimee (Jessica Henwick) awaits him.  The encounters with monsters vary from scary to humorous, with most of them being humorously scary.  And while Joel is too nerdy for his own good, that simply allows him to grow throughout the narrative in interesting, if obvious, ways.  This adventure is not particularly deep but it is undeniably appealing and even endearing, especially when the dog saves the day.  ☆ ☆ ☆.  10 November 2021.