VFX artists analyze scenes from Love and Monsters starring Dylan O'Brien, expressing surprise at the film's $30 million budget. Released in 2020 and directed by Michael Matthews, Love and Monsters stars O'Brien as Joel, a lovelorn survivor of a monster apocalypse who sets out on a quest to find his high school sweetheart. The film, which features a handful of VFX-heavy monster action sequences, was a hit with critics and currently sports a strong 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.
In a recent episode of their "VFX Artists React" YouTube series, the VFX artists at Corridor Crew react to scenes from Love and Monsters, which they praise for doing a lot on a relatively small budget. Sam Gorski guesses that one reasons the film was able to get made at this budget level is due to the lack of practical effects, and he and co-hosts Wren Weichman and Niko Pueringer go on to praise the filmmaking used to support this approach.
The Corridor hosts also express surprise at some of the production methods used, which included an inflatable crab as a stand-in for a large, crab-like monster. Check out Weichman's comment about the movie or watch the full segment in the video below:
“They quickly realized early on in the process of making this movie, it’s like, all right, we’re just going to have to rely on all these monsters just being CG and simulated straight from the start. Because it was a smaller budget movie every shot had to be very deliberate.
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They had to have a lot of intent with everything they were doing
and making sure that they were doing it correctly because they couldn’t just be like, ‘Ah, we’ll fix it later.’ It was like, no, we have to do it correctly now. Also, this movie was nominated for an Oscar for best VFX.”
What Love And Monsters' Strong VFX Meant For The Movie's Reception
How The Film Fared Critically & Commercially
In addition to a 94% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes, the Popcornmeter, previously called the audience score, sits at a high 89% for Love and Monsters. Though the film's effects were a common point of praise, many reviews were complimentary of the film's surprising level of emotional depth. There's plenty of monster action throughout, especially in the Love and Monsters ending, but it's all anchored by O'Brien's compelling lead performance and a touching love story.
2020's Love and Monsters is a fun, lighthearted monster-centric adventure, and a handful of other movies managed to find this same tonal balance.
Unfortunately, the film's positive reception didn't translate into box office success. Love and Monsters was originally slated for a wide release in theaters, but the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic changed Paramount's plans. The movie was released on VOD the same day as it opened in only a few hundred theaters, and it grossed just over $1 million at the box office. Love and Monsters also didn't end up being successful at the Oscars, losing out on the Best VFX award to Christopher Nolan's Tenet.
In addition to O'Brien, the
Love and Monsters
cast includes Jessica Henwick, Michael Rooker, Dan Ewing, and Ariana Greenblatt.
Our Take On Love And Monsters' VFX
The Movie Remains An O'Brien Career Highlight
O'Brien continues to work regularly in Hollywood, recently appearing as part of the cast of Saturday Night, but his projects have varied widely in terms of success and scale. He remains perhaps best known for his starring role in the Maze Runner trilogy, and Love and Monsters came only two years after that franchise concluded. The monster movie was able to take advantage of his physicality and action-hero qualities while also letting a softer side shine through.
O'Brien is one of Love and Monsters' biggest strengths, but the film certainly wouldn't have succeeded on a quality level without its VFX. The monsters in the movie are creative and unique, and they also manage to look remarkably real considering the film's modest budget. Though it wouldn't be unusual to see a film of this genre made for $80 million or more, Love and Monsters remains a testament to the VFX feats that can be achieved when directors are intimately aware of how to best plan for CGI-heavy sequences.
The post-apocalyptic movie Love and Monsters follows a young man who sets out to find his girlfriend in a monster-infested world seven years after the apocalypse. Dylan O'Brien and Jessica Henwick star, with Michael Rooker, Dan Ewing, and and Ariana Greenblatt in supporting roles.
Director Michael Matthews
Release Date October 16, 2020
Studio(s) Paramount Pictures
Distributor(s) Paramount Pictures , Netflix
Writers Brian Duffield , Matthew Robinson
CastAriana Greenblatt , Te Kohe Tuhaka , Damien Garvey , Melanie Zanetti , Miriama Smith , Jessica Henwick , Tasneem Roc , Dylan O'Brien , Ellen Hollman , Dan Ewing , Larry Cedar , Senie Priti , Michael Rooker , Amali Golden , Tandi Wright
English (US) ·