Movie plot – Love and Monsters: In a world full of monsters, Joel (Dylan O’Brien) learns that his girlfriend is only 80 miles away. To make the dangerous journey, Joel discovers his inner hero to be with the love of his life.

Director: Michael Matthews
Writers: Brian Duffield, Matthew Robinson

One of my favorite of 2020

2020 has not been a good year for films, and this is mainly due to COVID-19, where films are postponed. Luckily we still had Tenet, which was good, but now we get another surprise: Monsters and Love.

It wasn’t really advertised that much. Or at least not in Belgium, because many don’t know about it. In the beginning, I really expected a similar film as Zombieland. You can compare it with it, but I claim that this new film is better.

Michael Matthews’ “Love and Monsters” is the rarest film of this year: A fun, imaginative, genre adventure made with a modest amount of large studio money and intended for a cinema release, despite not being taken from a comic book or supported by a big star.

An apocalyptic world

The cause of the apocalypse started, in this case, with the explosion of a giant asteroid. Scientists were able to blow it up with rockets before the asteroid crashed on our planet, but the chemical compounds used to launch those rockets fell back to Earth and turned the entire insect population into mutated killing machines. Some other creatures were also affected, but the film is a bit blurry on the false science of it all. However, the reason for its existence is the least important part.

What’s important is what the world looks like now. It’s very green, and the insects are meters big and attack people. That’s why they have to live in underground bunkers and are not going to the surface anymore.

Love and monsters

Dylan O’Brien

I don’t know if I would have liked Love and Monsters if Dylan O’Brien wasn’t in this movie. He carries this film on his shoulder. He is such a likable guy with a lot of charisma, which makes you quickly care about his character. He knows how to be funny but also how to deliver emotional scenes. Personally, I think he is an underrated actor.

Dylan O’Brien plays Joel, someone who freezes still at a confrontation with a monster. In his bunker, each person has found a partner. However, Joel is still single, but apparently, his girlfriend from before the apocalypse lives in another bunker. He wants to risk his life to get to her place. That also means that he puts his own life in danger because he leaves on his own.

Joel vs. Monsters

Once Joel leaves his bunker, he suddenly has to fight for his own. Therefore, a new dangerous adventure begins.

That brings us to the film’s second favorite character, and it is not a person at all. No, Joel’s first encounter is a dog. I swear to god, this dog is the best pet you’ve ever seen. Like Joel, you also feel bound to the animal. Suddenly they feel inseparable.

Joel also meets two travelers, one of whom is played by Michael Rooker. Most of them know him from Guardians Of The Galaxy, and that guy really always plays as his own. It’s one of those actors that’s just great as playing himself. He teaches Joel how to survive this world and gives him worthy lessons.

Because of this, Joel is trained, and he is ready to fight or flee monsters. Besides that, he also learns about the many species that are always useful.


Finally, a film above my expectations in 2020. It was fun, entertaining, and above all, I empathized with Dylan O’Brian’s character. He was definitely the highlight of the film.