Having grown up in the 80s, I was exposed to a whole gamut of movies that followed the same basic plot construction and format, in which a group of young kids discovers (or hopes to discover) something fantastical or alien and generally ends up saving the world. Movies from ET and GREMLINS to THE GOONIES and THE MONSTER SQUAD all fit loosely into this same paradigm.
What director Joe Cornish has done so masterfully here is to take that pattern and turn it on its' head. Unlike another recent similar movie, SUPER 8, which closely mimicked those 80s movies so much as to be a direct homage, Cornish decides to use the basic framework but to provide the viewer with twists to make it new and refreshing.
The first of those twists seems to be the most controversial with viewers in that this is not a group of precious, innocent kids who "come of age" while they save the world. Instead, Cornish drops his alien invasion straight into the middle of the hood (the block, call it what you will), and the group of protagonists that we follow are far from innocent. In fact, we meet them in the middle of mugging a young woman.
A WHOLE LOT of reviewers on this site seem to focus in on how "unlikable" the main characters are and that this turns them off from enjoying the movie. I admit that I find this hard to understand. Let's take a movie like GOODFELLAS, which revolves around a gang of very hardened criminals with few redeeming qualities, yet this is considered a modern film classic. Part of me starts to wonder if this is more a case of white, suburban, middle- class viewership not wanting to cheer for a group of realistically portrayed black kids from the ghetto, but I don't want to go too far down that avenue.
I found it to be a refreshing twist to use in a movie like this. I'm tired of the same plot formula where bland suburban kids save the world while dealing with the same real-life problems (the abused kid, the kid from a broken home, etc). Instead, for me, as a viewer, I started with an unfavorable view of these kids, but grew to like them as the movie goes on and they find their humanity, as they realize how important their neighborhood is to them and how important it is to save it.
The other huge twist here, from the typical Spielberg formula is that Cornish is not afraid to kill off his kids, which you never see in those cookie cutter movies. In fact, they die violently and with ample gore, not shying from their deaths one bit. It was shocking to see as a viewer who is used to this formula keeping the kids alive, even when in obvious peril.
In order for this to work, though, it needed more than clever twists on well-worn patterns. It needed to bring us a really horrific monster(s), which it does in spades. I love the creature design here. I love that they didn't go with the green alien with tentacles cliché, or any of the other designs you've seen over and over. These aliens are terrifying as they chase our heroes. The lack of eyes, the glowing teeth, the blackness of their fur, the realistic movement (praise to Cornish for use of practical effects in lieu of CGI). I absolutely love the aliens in this movie.
I'm finding that my opinion improves more each time I see it and I think this is one of the better horror movies made in the past ten years.
What director Joe Cornish has done so masterfully here is to take that pattern and turn it on its' head. Unlike another recent similar movie, SUPER 8, which closely mimicked those 80s movies so much as to be a direct homage, Cornish decides to use the basic framework but to provide the viewer with twists to make it new and refreshing.
The first of those twists seems to be the most controversial with viewers in that this is not a group of precious, innocent kids who "come of age" while they save the world. Instead, Cornish drops his alien invasion straight into the middle of the hood (the block, call it what you will), and the group of protagonists that we follow are far from innocent. In fact, we meet them in the middle of mugging a young woman.
A WHOLE LOT of reviewers on this site seem to focus in on how "unlikable" the main characters are and that this turns them off from enjoying the movie. I admit that I find this hard to understand. Let's take a movie like GOODFELLAS, which revolves around a gang of very hardened criminals with few redeeming qualities, yet this is considered a modern film classic. Part of me starts to wonder if this is more a case of white, suburban, middle- class viewership not wanting to cheer for a group of realistically portrayed black kids from the ghetto, but I don't want to go too far down that avenue.
I found it to be a refreshing twist to use in a movie like this. I'm tired of the same plot formula where bland suburban kids save the world while dealing with the same real-life problems (the abused kid, the kid from a broken home, etc). Instead, for me, as a viewer, I started with an unfavorable view of these kids, but grew to like them as the movie goes on and they find their humanity, as they realize how important their neighborhood is to them and how important it is to save it.
The other huge twist here, from the typical Spielberg formula is that Cornish is not afraid to kill off his kids, which you never see in those cookie cutter movies. In fact, they die violently and with ample gore, not shying from their deaths one bit. It was shocking to see as a viewer who is used to this formula keeping the kids alive, even when in obvious peril.
In order for this to work, though, it needed more than clever twists on well-worn patterns. It needed to bring us a really horrific monster(s), which it does in spades. I love the creature design here. I love that they didn't go with the green alien with tentacles cliché, or any of the other designs you've seen over and over. These aliens are terrifying as they chase our heroes. The lack of eyes, the glowing teeth, the blackness of their fur, the realistic movement (praise to Cornish for use of practical effects in lieu of CGI). I absolutely love the aliens in this movie.
I'm finding that my opinion improves more each time I see it and I think this is one of the better horror movies made in the past ten years.