Director: Stuart Stanton
Writer: Karen Elgar, Stuart Stanton (Screenplay)
Starring: Angel Giuffria, Georgia Crisfield Smith, Matthew Clarke, David Macrae, Rebecca Fortuna, Michaela Pascoe
Plot: A young couple on a romantic weekend in the Australian bush are terrorised by a psychopathic family.
Runtime: 1 Hour 29 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: No Such Thing As Monsters starts when a couple Mary (Giuffria) and David (Clarke) head off for a camping trip, while Mary is reluctant to go on because of her fears of being in tight locations. The pair find themselves with another family Amy (Smith), Becca (Fortuna), Belly (Pascoe) and Elmer (Fyfe) who use the location for a yearly trip.
The family has other ideas though, abducting the couple taking them to their remote location leaving Mary locked up in the camper van, where she is left to wonder what is happening to David.
Thoughts on No Such Thing As Monsters
Characters – Mary reluctantly agrees to join her boyfriend on the trip away, she isn’t a fan of tight spaces and would prefer a cottage getaway, but she is trying to get used to change. She tries to befriend the other campers, only to find herself locked up in the campervan with no escape in sight. David likes the outdoors, with this being a chance for him to pop the big question, he is taken, tied up and used for the benefit of the women. Amy is the timid member of the family who has been scared, she always covers herself up and is the only member of the family that tries to defend Mary from the others. Becca, Nelly and Elmer are the family members that have taken the couple with plans for their own with them.
Performances – Angel Giuffria in the leading role does a strong job showing us the hopelessness of the situation she finds herself in, while Rebecca Fortuna and Michaela Pascoe show us the crazy side of the siblings.
Story – The story here follows a couple that are on a camping trip, only to find themselves taken by a psychotic family, who have plans for them as they suffer through a long ordeal. While this story is pretty much a by the book idea of a couple being taken, it is the length of the ordeal which will make it stand out, we see the days, weeks and months pass by, as they suffer, instead of the quick general escape concept we are used to seeing. It does start to get a little bit repetitive, as we just get caught up spending more time wondering what is happening, over producing the true shock of the truth.
Horror – The horror in this film comes from first being taken and how the couple are put for their lengthy ordeal.
Settings – The film uses the remote setting to show how a family could be getting away with the plan they have, showing us you never know what you will find inside the woods.
Scene of the Movie – First escape plan.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Dumb decisions.
Final Thoughts – No Such Thing As Monsters is an interesting spin on the abduction story, which will show us the horrific lengthy ordeal the couple must go through.
