Monster (2008 film)
Encyclopedia
Monster is a 2008
direct-to-DVD monster film
produced by American
studio The Asylum
, written and directed by Erik Estenberg.
The film is an Asylum mockbuster
created to capitalise on the release of Cloverfield
. It was released direct-to-DVD on January 15, 2008. Cloverfield was released theatrically three days later on January 18, 2008.
in 2007, where two reporters - Sarah Sullivan (Sarah Lieving) and Erin Lynch (Erin Sullivan
) - have arrived from the United States
to document unusual seismic disturbances that have been picked up around Tokyo
. The disturbances are originally thought to be aftershocks left over from a supposed massive earthquake on the Kanto Fault that occurred two years previously, causing hundreds of thousands of casualties and several hundred billion dollars in damage(possibly referencing the real-life Fukuoka earthquake
or the Miyagi earthquake
), although careful analysis of the evidence suggests otherwise.
As time goes on, all of Tokyo
begins to suffer from abnormal earth tremors similar to those registered in 2005, but the tremors are found not to be caused by an earthquake, but by a gigantic octopus
that has been dormant for centuries, but has since been awakened by mankind, and now sees Tokyo
as a new feeding-ground, with the filmmakers documenting the catastrophe as it unfolds.
It starts as Sarah and Erin are talking about filming Tokyo. The scene then switches to the interior of Sarah's car as the two drive to LAX, to catch their flight to Tokyo. In Tokyo they rent a hotel room, and, the next day, Erin films Sarah talking with the global warming minister. During the interview, an earthquake strikes and the scene again switches to the reporters in the basement of the environmental building trying to find someone who can speak English. Eventually, they find Justin - a worker - who is from America as well. He says that they have to go to the American embassy, and, as they flee, they hear the sounds of panic and plane engines from a tunnel.
Later, they find a mall, and another earthquake occurs. In the chaos, Justin is impaled by a pole as the reporters flee in panic. Some small text appears on the screen saying that tape #3 was damaged. As the reporters run toward a mall they find a woman and her grandfather, and they eat and sleep, Sarah not realizing she had left the camera turned on. Then, another earthquake begins and kills the grandfather as the woman tells the reporters to flee. They hear the mall explode as they run away and soon find a building which they enter. They have gone upstairs when the building suddenly collapses. The reporters survive, but, unfortunately, the collapse damaged the camera lens.
Night arrives and they see helicopters ready to save refugees, but a tentacle destroys them and proceeds to throw cars at the people, killing many of them. Panic ensues and Erin abandons Sarah but a tentacle slams into the ground where Erin is and she is wounded. Additionally, the camera's batteries are running low. Sarah cries for Erin as the crash of a tentacle hitting the ground is heard, ending the film, indicating that the reporters were crushed by the monster and were among the thousands, if not millions, killed.
2008 in film
This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...
direct-to-DVD monster film
Monster movie
Monster movie is a name commonly given to movies, which centre on the struggle between human beings and one or more monsters...
produced by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
studio The Asylum
The Asylum
The Asylum is an American film studio and distributor which focuses on producing low-budget, usually direct-to-video productions. The studio has produced titles that capitalize on productions by major studios; these titles have been dubbed "mockbusters" by the press.-History:The Asylum was founded...
, written and directed by Erik Estenberg.
The film is an Asylum mockbuster
Mockbuster
A mockbuster is a film created with the apparent intention of piggy-backing on the publicity of a major film with a similar title or theme and are often made with a low budget. Often these films are created to be released direct-to-video at the same time as the mainstream film reaches theaters or...
created to capitalise on the release of Cloverfield
Cloverfield
Cloverfield is a 2008 American disaster-monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams and written by Drew Goddard.The film follows six young New Yorkers attending a going-away party on the night that a gigantic monster attacks the city...
. It was released direct-to-DVD on January 15, 2008. Cloverfield was released theatrically three days later on January 18, 2008.
Plot
The film takes place in TokyoTokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
in 2007, where two reporters - Sarah Sullivan (Sarah Lieving) and Erin Lynch (Erin Sullivan
Erin Sullivan
Erin Sullivan was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, serving from 1998-2002. Her district consisted of much of lower Cuyahoga County, Ohio. She was preceded by Tom Patton.-External links:*...
) - have arrived from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to document unusual seismic disturbances that have been picked up around Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. The disturbances are originally thought to be aftershocks left over from a supposed massive earthquake on the Kanto Fault that occurred two years previously, causing hundreds of thousands of casualties and several hundred billion dollars in damage(possibly referencing the real-life Fukuoka earthquake
2005 Fukuoka earthquake
The Fukuoka earthquake struck Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan at 10:53 am JST on March 20, 2005, and lasted for approximately 1 minute. The Japan Meteorological Agency measured it as peaking at a magnitude of 7.0 and named it and its subsequent aftershocks the...
or the Miyagi earthquake
2005 Miyagi earthquake
The 2005 Miyagi earthquake was a powerful earthquake that struck the east coast of the Japanese island of Honshū at 11.46am on August 16, causing casualties, building collapses and power outages.-Earthquake characteristics:...
), although careful analysis of the evidence suggests otherwise.
As time goes on, all of Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
begins to suffer from abnormal earth tremors similar to those registered in 2005, but the tremors are found not to be caused by an earthquake, but by a gigantic octopus
Gigantic octopus
An unknown species of gigantic octopus has been hypothesised as a source of reports of sea monsters such as the lusca and the kraken as well as the source of some of the carcasses of unidentified origin known as globsters like the St. Augustine Monster. The species that the St...
that has been dormant for centuries, but has since been awakened by mankind, and now sees Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
as a new feeding-ground, with the filmmakers documenting the catastrophe as it unfolds.
It starts as Sarah and Erin are talking about filming Tokyo. The scene then switches to the interior of Sarah's car as the two drive to LAX, to catch their flight to Tokyo. In Tokyo they rent a hotel room, and, the next day, Erin films Sarah talking with the global warming minister. During the interview, an earthquake strikes and the scene again switches to the reporters in the basement of the environmental building trying to find someone who can speak English. Eventually, they find Justin - a worker - who is from America as well. He says that they have to go to the American embassy, and, as they flee, they hear the sounds of panic and plane engines from a tunnel.
Later, they find a mall, and another earthquake occurs. In the chaos, Justin is impaled by a pole as the reporters flee in panic. Some small text appears on the screen saying that tape #3 was damaged. As the reporters run toward a mall they find a woman and her grandfather, and they eat and sleep, Sarah not realizing she had left the camera turned on. Then, another earthquake begins and kills the grandfather as the woman tells the reporters to flee. They hear the mall explode as they run away and soon find a building which they enter. They have gone upstairs when the building suddenly collapses. The reporters survive, but, unfortunately, the collapse damaged the camera lens.
Night arrives and they see helicopters ready to save refugees, but a tentacle destroys them and proceeds to throw cars at the people, killing many of them. Panic ensues and Erin abandons Sarah but a tentacle slams into the ground where Erin is and she is wounded. Additionally, the camera's batteries are running low. Sarah cries for Erin as the crash of a tentacle hitting the ground is heard, ending the film, indicating that the reporters were crushed by the monster and were among the thousands, if not millions, killed.
Main cast
- Yoshi Ando - Environmental Minister
- Sarah Lieving - Sarah Sullivan
- Shinichiro Shimizu - Shinichiro
- Erin SullivanErin SullivanErin Sullivan was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, serving from 1998-2002. Her district consisted of much of lower Cuyahoga County, Ohio. She was preceded by Tom Patton.-External links:*...
- Erin Lynch
Reception
The few reviews of the film posted online have been extremely negative. A particularly infamous review was made by Dread Central, which habitual Asylum film critic Scott "The Foywonder" Foy did as an audio file in a parody of the "found footage" concept used by the movie: in this case, the file consists of Foy giving his thoughts on the movie while at the same time pretending to be slowly going insane due to the movie's abysmal quality culminating in him apparently jumping out of a window. Foy would later state that some people actually thought his "insanity" was real and would also name Monster the "Worst Direct To DVD Horror Movie of 2008" in a later podcast.See also
- CloverfieldCloverfieldCloverfield is a 2008 American disaster-monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams and written by Drew Goddard.The film follows six young New Yorkers attending a going-away party on the night that a gigantic monster attacks the city...
- Another monster film released in the same year - Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus - A 2009 film by The AsylumThe AsylumThe Asylum is an American film studio and distributor which focuses on producing low-budget, usually direct-to-video productions. The studio has produced titles that capitalize on productions by major studios; these titles have been dubbed "mockbusters" by the press.-History:The Asylum was founded...
that also features a giant octopusGigantic octopusAn unknown species of gigantic octopus has been hypothesised as a source of reports of sea monsters such as the lusca and the kraken as well as the source of some of the carcasses of unidentified origin known as globsters like the St. Augustine Monster. The species that the St... - TentaclesTentacles (film)Tentacles is a 1977 Italian-American horror film directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis and starring John Huston and Shelley Winters.- Plot :The tourist spot Ocean Beach has come under attack by a giant octopus, which captures human swimmers and picks clean the skeletons of flesh and bone marrow...
- A similar film released in 19771977 in filmThe year 1977 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network....