The film that basically earned Gareth Edwards his shot at reviving Godzilla was the atmospheric monster flick, appropriately titled Monsters. And it's safe to say that Edwards brought a similar moody aesthetic to Godzilla; never overusing the creatures themselves and sparing them until they were most effective. Unlike the $500M blockbuster, Monsters can't be categorized as an action movie. It was a character piece and allegory about immigration policy more than anything else. But with Edwards out of the picture the sequel Monsters: Dark Continent has gone a totally different direction.
Directed by Tom Green (no, not Drew Barrymore's ex), Monsters: Dark Continent appears to be more of a war film than anything else, with more monsters lurking over every hill. Johnny Harris (Snow White and the Huntsman) stars as a soldier desperately trying to find his friend while the U.S. sends the military in to deal with the growing monster threat.
Edwards is only on board here as an exec-producer and he seems to have left Green to his own devices, crafting a movie that is completely separate from the first one. That said, the action looks pretty good, better than the tiny budget would suggest. In that way it shares at least one thing in common with Edwards' film. Monsters: Dark Continent has yet to gain a U.S. date but opens in the U.K. this November.
Monsters Dark Continent - Trailer by itsartmag
