Monsters is a short horror film written and directed by Steve Desmond and co-written by Michael Anthony Sherman. It screened at the Comicpalooza Film Festival in Houston, TX on Saturday May 13th. Monsters stars Caitlin Carmichael, Ione Skye, Christopher Wiehl, and Joey Luthman.
Jenn (Carmichael) is a young girl living in an underground bunker with her mother (Skye), father (Wiehl) and brother (Luthman) in a seemingly dystopian world that has been overtaken by monsters. As her parents and brother go in and out of the locked bunker with gas masks and gear on, Jenn dreams of a day when they can live above ground in a normal house again. She practices battling a sketch of a monster with her wooden sword and, deciding she’s ready to take on the creatures, steals a key and heads above ground. What she discovers isn’t what she expected.
With a run time of twelve minutes, I was pleasantly surprised at how many twists Desmond and Sherman packed into Monsters. The atmosphere was tense and the mystery surrounding the events taking place kept me on edge- in the best way possible. Caitlin Carmichael, who also starred in the remake of Martyrs, was absolutely brilliant as Jenn. She went from a tough, yet naive, girl to having her world completely shook up, and I felt every moment along with her. Although Carmichael was the true star, Monsters features superb acting across the board, along with beautiful cinematography and a story that will stay with you long after.
It seems that this filmmaking team is only getting started. Per their website, “In the spirit of The Twilight Zone, we’ve written a character-driven ensemble feature film called TWISTED AVENUE. Imagine a film like Crash or Magnolia… But filled with storylines and characters that are far more sinister. Each of the interweaving stories is edgy, unpredictable and filled with universal themes. Stories that are both scary and smart, and set in a world where nothing is what it seems. This film won’t simply entertain… It will unnerve you to your core.”
I definitely can’t wait to see more. If you’d like to check out Monsters for yourself, visit the film’s website.
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