Love and Monsters (2020)

(Netflix Streaming, May 2021) There have been many post-apocalyptic films lately, so much so that the subject matter itself feels stale… and that’s a time in which tone and style can become crucial. Love and Monsters, fortunately, has plenty to offer. Taking a Zombieland-style darkly comic approach to a world in which various monsters have made Earth uninhabitable to humans, it follows the odyssey of a young man trekking across a dangerous landscape in order to meet a romantic interest. The deck is stacked against our protagonist, but the screenwriters are rooting for him — the finale is rather optimistic after a number of harrowing adventures, and the upbeat tone of the narration does much to keep viewers invested in the protagonist’s adventures. There’s a nice balance between horrors and more uplifting sentiments, while director Michael Matthews stretches the film’s relatively low budget with a plethora of visually interesting monsters throughout the course of the film. (Love and Monsters nominated for a Best Visual Effects Academy Award and while it didn’t win, simply being nominated is notable enough for this out-of-nowhere candidate.)  I’d be careful in calling this a romp, though: darkness lurks at the edges of the film, with not-so-funny subplots and a not-completely-satisfying conclusion. Still, Love and Monsters goes through post-apocalyptic landscapes with more energy and humour than many other similar films, and that does help it stand out from the crowd.