Dylan O’Brien has starred in many movies since his big break on Teen Wolf, however, the one movie which deserves a sequel is Love And Monsters. The 2020 movie has a 94% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes, making it Certified Fresh, and was nominated for Best Visual Effects at the Academy Awards. Love And Monsters follows the 85-mile journey of a 24-year-old called Joel (Dylan O’Brien) as he navigates a mutant monster-filled world alongside his loyal dog, Boy, and fellow human survivors Minnow (Ariana Greenblatt) and Clyde (Michael Rooker), to reunite with his girlfriend Aimee (Jessica Henwick) from seven years ago.
Love And Monsters is a great post-apocalyptic movie that focuses on a character who knows nothing about the new dangerous world beyond his bunker colony. The love story is the primary motivator but doesn’t take over the film, and while there are many movies similar to Love And Monsters, I thought that O’Brien’s movie felt more authentic as a true YA story. With Love And Monsters’ slightly ambiguous ending, positive critical reviews, and fully fleshed out world, it is surprising that a sequel has not been made, and it is something which I am still looking forward to years later.
Love And Monsters Still Hasn’t Gotten A Sequel 4 Years Later
Dylan O'Brien's Movie Has A Somewhat Open Ending
Love And Monsters’ ending sets the movie up for a possible sequel, however, four years later, there is no indication of one being made. Joel broadcasts the rumored safer colony in the northern mountains, with Clyde and Minnow waiting there at the end of the movie, and everyone leaves to find it. Love And Monsters has an ambiguous ending as we don’t know whether anyone arrived. Therefore, I think a sequel would be interesting to show the colony established and humans thriving, rather than surviving, finding new ways to live with the monsters, especially docile ones like the Boulder Snail.
The world population was 7.229 billion in 2013, which is when the rockets created the mutated monsters in Love And Monsters . If 95% of the population was wiped out in one year, approximately 361 million people would still be alive worldwide.
In Love And Monsters, Joel explains how chemical fallout from the rockets they sent to destroy a world-ending asteroid affected the animals and mutated them into gigantic monsters. However, the film’s universe felt empty despite Joel stating that 5% of the world’s population has survived. While the movie showcases a brilliant apocalyptic vibe, I feel like a Love And Monsters sequel would help expand the world building more, especially in explaining what happened to all the humans, as the human presence felt very localized rather than worldwide, even in flashbacks, considering that 5% of humanity may still be alive.
It Took A While Before Love And Monsters Found Success (Despite Being Great)
Love And Monsters Was Affected By COVID-19
Dylan O’Brien’s Love And Monsters took a while to find success because of the inopportune release date. The monster adventure film was to be released in theaters in March 2020, however, the COVID-19 pandemic affected Love And Monsters’ distribution. COVID-19 caused many productions to be shut down, and regulations set in place by the government meant that people couldn't go to theaters, so Paramount Pictures allocated the film’s international release to Netflix in 2021. The pandemic caused lots of problems in the film industry and has notably changed movie-going habits, with movies struggling at the box office even in 2024.
Video on demand (VOD) | October 16, 2020 |
Limited theatrical release (387 theaters) | October 16-18, 2020 |
International release by Netflix | April 14, 2021 |
The movie was overlooked in 2020 due to the pandemic, alongside many others. However, Love And Monsters started to get the attention it deserves in 2023, as it started trending on Netflix. Love And Monsters was one of the Top 10 Movies in the US in 2023, alongside releases like The Super Marios Bros. Movie, which starred big name actors such as Chris Pratt and Jack Black. This was unprecedented considering the movie had been released years prior, but I was glad to see that many people were now enjoying the film as Dylan O’Brien delivered a brilliant performance.
Love And Monsters Is One Of Dylan O’Brien’s Best Movies
Joel Dawson Is An Extremely Likable Character
Despite Dylan O'Brien's impressive filmography, I think that Love And Monsters is arguably one of his best movies. Dylan O’Brien rose to notoriety for playing Stiles Stilinski on the hit show Teen Wolf from 2011 to 2017 and, in this period, he also played Thomas in The Maze Runner trilogy, which launched his name into the mainstream media. Even so, Love And Monsters presented a unique opportunity for Dylan O’Brien to play an almost one-man show due to the lonely nature of the film’s universe, and as a result, Dylan O’Brien delivered one of his best characters through Joel Dawson.
... Joel is incompetent and has no idea how to survive, often having to rely on his dog, Boy.
Joel is a likable character in Love And Monsters because he is believable. As a teenager, he saw his parents killed and has essentially been raised in isolation by his colony family. Therefore, when he ventures to the surface for the first time, Joel is incompetent and has no idea how to survive, often having to rely on his dog, Boy. With Boy as Love And Monsters’ dog co-lead, O’Brien is forced to monologue and the film uses letters to Aimee to enable this dialogue. However, this doesn’t feel cheesy or too pretentious, and Dylan O’Brien shines in the role.
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English (US) ·