This
was getting a ton of buzz when it debuted on Shudder. I’m a big fan of monster
movies and have had many great experiences watching South Korean genre flicks
so I was in. I expected a typical creature feature, but I got so much more than
that. Before I continue it is clear to me that I’m going to have to drop some
spoilers to properly explain the story. If you don’t like that sort of thing
then let me just tell you know that this is a great movie and you should check
it out.
There
is a lot of political intrigue in this movie. The King is surrounded by people
trying to knock him off the throne and take power for themselves. We know this
because the movie starts off in the past where the army kills a bunch of
civilians who might have the plague. Not to protect the people, but to undermine
their support for the king, whom everyone thinks ordered it. A little girl is
left alive, which becomes important later on.
Then
the action moves to years later where a monster is terrorizing the mountain
where the capital city gets many of its resources. People are being killed and
butchered by something in the woods. The king calls upon Yoo Gyeom, a former
head of his guards, to come and stop the monster. He has retired with his best
friend and daughter to live a simple life of hunting. He returns to the capital
city and gets caught up in all of the intrigue. We find out that the reason he
left was because of his daughter, whom he adopted and raised. Yep she was the
little girl that survived the massacre.
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Love the creature! |
The
big twist is that while the man trying to bring down the king has been faking
the attacks, he doesn’t realize that there is actually a monster on the
mountain. One that fed on the bodies of those slaughtered earlier, some of whom
did have the plague. Not only is it a giant and deadly creature but it also
carries a disease that could wipe anyone out that it doesn’t kill! This all
comes to a head in an exciting and explosive conclusion.
I
love this movie. It has everything that I could ask for. There is a cool
creature, that while brought to the screen with CGI is done so spectacularly. I
can’t think of a single scene that made me cringe. The digitally created
monster is masterfully added to each sequence without error. It looks great and
is scary. This is helped by an excellent cast that had to react fearfully from
something that wasn’t on set. That might not sound like a hard thing for an
actor to do, but I’ve seen enough monster movies to tell you there are a lot
that can’t pull it off.
The
story is unlike anything that I’ve ever seen before in a movie like this. They
seamlessly weave a complex bit of political intrigue into Monstrum without
losing track of the creature mayhem. It is also interesting that the monster is
only a monster because of the political maneuvering and arrogance of the humans
who plucked him from his home. The creature started out as an earlier king’s
pet. The plague and the hunters disturbing it all come from the machinations of
devious plotting men trying to seize power. That is pretty deep and a fun twist
on the genre.
There
are also a lot of fights between our human characters which means some great
martial arts and swordplay. The choreography is wonderful, and the scenes are
editing in a way that is easy to follow. Arrows fly and blades slash as large
groups of soldiers do battle with one another. When they add the creature in it
works just as well. That I wasn’t expecting, and it impressed me. Those
responsible for Monstrum really knew what the heck they were doing. The last
twenty minutes of the movie are filled with so much action that I can’t imagine
anyone not liking this flick.
Probably
obvious by now that I’m giving this one a huge recommendation. It is in the
running for best movie that I’ve seen this year. Like I’ve already mentioned as
of the writing of this review it is streaming on Shudder and is a must see.
© Copyright 2020
John Shatzer
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