Monsters is a 2010 British science-fiction horror film written and directed by Gareth Edwards (in his feature directorial debut).

The film takes place years after a NASA probe crashed in Mexico, which leads to the sudden appearance of giant tentacled monsters.

It follows Andrew Kaulder (Scoot McNairy), an American photojournalist tasked with escorting his employer's daughter Samantha Wynden (Whitney Able) back to the United States by crossing through Mexico's "Infected Zone", where the creatures reside.

Most of the extras were people who were at these locations during filming and were persuaded to act in it; all of their dialogue was improvised, and Edwards provided outlines of the primary plot points.

Andrew locates Samantha in a Central American hospital and the pair board a train, until learning the tracks ahead have been damaged.

Andrew and Samantha travel through a severely damaged, evacuated town in Texas, and find an abandoned gas station with power where they call the army for help.

Considering that the film would have to be low-budget, Edwards decided to embrace the found footage style of The Blair Witch Project and mix that element with his original concept.

[5] Edwards did not storyboard or script the film but wrote a treatment of the story and outlines that detailed points that needed to be hit in dialogue.

[7] The film was able to be made on such a low budget largely due to the production using consumer grade prosumer level equipment instead of professional paraphernalia.

[3][10] For about 90 per cent of the principal photography, the crew consisted of seven people transported in one van: Edwards, Able, McNairy, sound operator Ian Maclagan, line producer Jim Spencer, Mexican fixer Verity Oswin and a driver.

[3] Every night after shooting, editor Colin Goudie and his assistant Justin Hall would download the footage so the memory sticks could be cleared and be ready for the next day.

Vue Entertainment and Cineworld Cinemas set up 'infected locations' which gave users access to exclusive Monsters content and the chance to win random on-the-spot prizes.

Tom Quinn, an executive at Magnet, stated that they "were blown away by Monsters" and were "thrilled to bring [Edwards'] vision to American audiences.

The site's critics consensus reads, "It doesn't quite live up to its intriguing premise, but Monsters is a surprising blend of alien-invasion tropes, political themes, and relationship drama.

[27] Roger Ebert awarded the film three and a half out of four stars, praising its focus on "characters, relationships, fear and mostly unseen menace" rather than its visual effects, as well as the acting.

[28] Peter Bradshaw, writing for The Guardian, gave it four stars out of five, described the film as a "terrifically exciting sci-fi movie" and concluded that Edwards "channels the upriver nightmares of [Werner] Herzog and [Francis Ford] Coppola, with a strong streak of Spielbergian wonder at the sight of two aliens apparently dancing".

[1] Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune was critical of the performances but praised the film's "considerable, crafty virtues", its premise, and its ending.

[29] Jeanette Catsoulis of The New York Times called the film "wondrously atmospheric" and "effortlessly compel[ling]", and praised Edwards' "beautiful, otherworldly" visual effects.

[30] Dan Jolin of Empire echoed the comparison to Herzog, opining that the film "exhibits the lyrical surrealism of [his] jungle excursions".

He also praised the visual effects, Edwards' cinematography, and the "simmering" chemistry between McNairy and Able, concluding that the film was "both shoestring and sci-fi filmmaking at its best".

[32] Jennie Punter of The Globe and Mail disagreed, comparing the lead actors' chemistry to Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in Before Sunrise and praising the pacing.

[35] Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times criticised the "weak plot, forgettable dialogue and sloppy politics" and called the lead characters "empty-headed blanks".

[36] Amy Biancolli of the San Francisco Chronicle called McNairy and Able a "semi-interesting" pair, but disliked the lack of monsters in the film, the dialogue, and the familiarity of the story.

[37] Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post called the film "a less-than-compelling relationship drama", criticising it for being unoriginal and predictable, and that hiding the monsters made them less frightening.

[38] At the 13th British Independent Film Awards, Monsters was nominated in six categories including Best Picture, Best Director for Edwards, and Best Actor for McNairy.

[46] A sequel, Monsters: Dark Continent, started filming in March 2013 in Jordan and Detroit, with Tom Green directing and Jay Basu writing.