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Love and Monsters (2021)
Love and Monsters (2021)
2021 | Action, Adventure, Comedy
7
7.8 (20 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Good creature design (1 more)
Uplifting vibe
Predictable (0 more)
Monsterland
So spotted this on Netflix and wasn't too sure about it. Glad I gave it a go though. Set in the near future where bugs and reptiles have become huge Monsters and the few people alive have been living in bunkers for years. A guy decides to take a dangerous journey to meet his love in a different colony.
This is a lighthearted Monster film, with more comedy and action than Horror. Kinda of a similar theme to Zombieland. Quite heartfelt as he goes on his journey and learns have to survive this new world. The creatures look great and SFX are very well done. Very entertaining if also predictable, but you'll enjoy the adventure.
  
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
2004 | Comedy, Horror
It's like Spaced with a bigger budget and zombies. (0 more)
It's not as good as Spaced. (0 more)
Spaced on the big screen
In principle, I really don't like comedies. Yes, there are examples of the genre out there that I like, don't get me wrong. But generally-speaking I just don't dig them. I won't go into my anti-comedy rant in great detail here, but I think that one of the main reasons for it is that I love the craft of filmmaking and most comedies are severely lacking in any kind of interesting creative decision that make me appreciate a filmmaker's craft. Now Edgar Wright, there's a director who knows his craft, and it is very much evident in Shaun of the Dead. It is very slickly shot and edited, brilliantly-paced, pitch-perfect in tone and yes - it's funny! There aren't many comedy-horror movies that work, but this one really does. Also, I am a huge fan of Spaced, which is up there in my top 5 tv shows of all time, and this film is very much a spiritual successor to the show.
  
Slaughterhouse Rulez (2018)
Slaughterhouse Rulez (2018)
2018 | Comedy, Horror
Slaughterhouse Rulez is a textbook example of a swing and a miss. It tries to give us a nice slice of comedy horror, but executes it pretty miserably.

A few things I liked...
- The fracking company were moustache twirling type villains, and were fairly amusing in the tiny amount of screentime dedicated to them.
- The CGI for the monsters is pretty decent, and the practical effects for close ups are also good.
- The whole final act when the monsters eventually turned up was effectively entertaining

But....

It takes a painfully long time to get to that bit. The hour plus of runtime preceding the monsters attacking is mostly boring setup, messy pacing and dialogue and a waste of a good cast.
The younger cast are fine, but it's hard not to feel that Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Margot Robbie and Michael Sheen are just severely under utilised, in a sometimes humorous comedy that is trying ball achingly hard to be an Edgar Wright movie.

Slaughterhouse Rulez isn't awful by any means, more accurately frustrating because it feels like a much better movie is buried somewhere beneath the final product.