Book of Monsters

source: Book of Monsters

I didn't know what to expect when I started watching this film. But I was very surprised and thrilled to find that it was a horror comedy in the vain of Shaun of the Dead with added an 1980s feel. I am a big 1980s creature horror fan and this pushed all of my buttons. The end left it open for a sequel which I would love to see happen. Take my money now!

Troubled by a traumatic childhood incident, a teen and her friends decide to throw a wild party for her eighteenth birthday, but once the guests arrive a deadly ritual is invoked unleashing a horde of monsters looking to complete a dangerous ritual and forcing them to stop its plans. For the most part, this proved to be an exceptionally enjoyable effort. One of it's strongest aspects is the manner in which this one works the fear of growing up into a decidedly fun effort. With a fantastic start that provides a reasonable and wholly necessary motivation for the fear she has towards the event and colors her emotional memories of her mother's incident, there's a great start to this one that gets played out rather nicely here. These events are rightfully psychologically scarring but to also see this hasn't affected her in most stereotypical manners is quite refreshing with the way the early goings of the party which is rather fun. It's once the creatures arrive at the house where this one really turns into a full-on blast. The creatures running wild on the guests at the party offers up scores of highly-enjoyable antics here which are all the more fun due to the practical nature of the effects. Given that the various and multiple monsters and creatures are shown to have memorable and unique designs that are driven by that manner of practical costumes for them, there's an added sense of fun in seeing the spike-backed ox creature or the gnome-worms running around the party as there's a sense of realism in seeing that occur. Given that these also manage to unravel the mystery behind their appearance and the ritual that's at the center of the creatures appearing at the house, this prepares us nicely for the overall fun of the finale where it tackles the creatures being taken out in rather fun fashion and unleashing plenty of over-the-top confrontations and action-packed encounters that leave this with a lighthearted tone alongside the thrilling sequences. These here hold the film up over it's few minor flaws as there were several small problems with it. The biggest issue is the absolute lack of clarity as for what's going on as the decision to keep the information about the creatures' appearance until the very end doesn't mean this makes any sense. The running time is spent with everyone around the party wondering what the purpose of them appearing is supposed to be for, and even their attempts at figuring out the translations in the book don't amount to much with several questionable aspects. As well, there's also the rushed finale which handles the action in a decidedly quick manner, making this one feel like the final boss battle between them and the most dangerous demon is a tad underwhelming. Otherwise, there isn't much wrong with this one. Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

This British horror comedy had a budget of less than 100k and though I entirely support independent movies I always believe in not over-shooting. What I mean by that is don't make a movie above your means, if you have a micro-budget then maybe avoid monsters, aliens, giant spaceships and explosive action. Considering the subject matter here for that reason I had my concerns, I didn't need to apparently. It tells the story of a girl celebrating her 18th birthday by having a house party. Before they know it they're under siege from an array of monsters, will they survive the night? I liked this, we don't see "Monsters" as much as we used to so it was a nice refreshing change seeing people under assault from them instead of the usual generic slashers or zombies. With a neat little competent unknown cast (Though too old to be playing teenagers), impressive effects for the budget and a fair bit of originality I was very impressed by what they accomplished here. Sure it's hardly groundbreaking and the budget limitations do show in places but they made the best of what they have and that right there demonstrates the talent both in front of and behind the camera. I'd actually like to see a sequel to this, it's an underground movie that deserves considerably more attention than its likely to get. More of these and less Hollywood trite please. The Good: Looks great for the budget The Bad: REALLY poor casting for teenagers! Stock sound effects

Poor direction and consequently poor acting from the vast majority of cast, or certainly not enough time put in to get a good take with actual empathy, compassion or actual fear!! Very shallow development of each character and also plot. The book was nonsense. Costumes for monsters probably came from the local party store to the filming location. Effects for the torso with spine where about the only thing that gives this a two. Either way, a disappointing missed opportunity.

To celebrate her 18th birthday, pretty gay schoolgirl Sophie (Lyndsey Craine) throws a house party, where she hopes to get closer to classmate Jess (Rose Muirhead). Her plans for romance are ruined, however, when the party is crashed by monsters who need her blood to complete a ritual that will give life to all the malevolent creatures depicted in an ancient book. As a Brit horror fan, I'm a keen supporter of independent UK scary movies, but it's tough going at times: the gems are often few and far between, resulting in a lot of disappointment. Book of Monsters, for example, boasts a fun concept with plenty of promise, but it is seriously hampered by weak acting (Nicholas Vince puts in a particularly bad performance, showing why he's best remembered for simply chattering: his delivery of his dialogue is awkward and unconvincing), plot progression that is achieved by the way of too much clumsy exposition, and comedy that frequently falls flat. I wanted to like it, but I didn't. The party massacre is a lot of fun, full of excessive cheesy splatter, with bodies torn apart and liberal spraying of blood, and if the film had continued in this OTT vein, it might have been a mindlessly enjoyable way to pass the time; unfortunately, the splatter soon dries up, leaving us with the bad acting and the clunky script, made worse by Stewart Sparke's tongue-in-cheek approach that rarely hits the mark (the gags involving the male * are especially cringeworthy, and an attack by evil gnomes is hampered by crap effects). On a slightly more positive note, the main monsters are admirably unconventional in design, although the lack of a decent budget means that they're not very animated and consequently less frightening than they otherwise might have been. A post credits scene sets up things for a sequel, Sophie and her surviving pals dedicating their lives to hunting and killing monsters. Let's hope they get a stronger script, a bigger budget and a few acting lessons in the interim.

A love letter to 80's horror films. Definitely a must watch for fans of old school practical effects.

Very low, low, low film about a book and some monsters. It's nice to see the Brits can also turn out cheaply made bombs like their Yankee counterparts. This dud involves Sophie turning 18 and what has been awaiting her all these years. I am not going to savage this film too much because the film stayed true to itself. Made on a budget of only $76,000, there is no CGI here, no really cool monsters, just lots and lots of fake blood and guts. A shout out to those involved who had (obviously) very little to work with, but managed a few nice kills. The movie is rated "R" and has some language and lots of gore.

Definitely a must watch, one of my new favs . Brilliant acting itt had me hiding behind my cushion 🙈 Special effects were great too

A really good film, made with skill and dedication. Which ends up as a great gore fest!! Well written, excellent production and some brilliant performances from the teams only second performance. You would never guess the small amount of investment uses to make such a professional looking film. Certainly worth a watch.