MONSTERS Coming to UK and Aussie DVD and Blu-ray In April

Source: The Associates, Madman Entertainment press releases Official Movie Site: monstersfilm.com (US), monstersthemovie.com (UK)

Following a US home video release in February, the critically acclaimed MONSTERS comes to DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on April 11th courtesy of Vertigo Films, and in Australia on April 13th from Madman Entertainment. MONSTERS recently completed a hugely successful theatrical release in Britain that saw it earning Five Star reviews in Empire (“a sci-fi picture which never loses sight of the human factor… an amazing achievement”), Total Film (“the most audacious debut since THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT”), the Financial Times (“a lollapalooza… so edgy it hardly needs monsters… a masterpiece of high-amp anxiety”), the Daily Express (“an intelligent, inventive film… highly recommended”) and the Sunday Mirror (“a road trip blending romance with sci-fi thrills”). It was also an Official Selection at the 2010 Melbourne International Film Festival. The winner of the Best Director, Best Achievement in Production and Best Technical Achievement awards at the 2010 British Independent Film Awards and recently nominated for the BAFTA award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer, MONSTERS was written, shot and directed by Emmy nominated and BAFTA award winning CGI animator Gareth Edwards (PEREFECT DISASTERS: HIROSHIMA), who, for his debut feature, “wanted to make a love story that didn’t make him cringe, as well as a sci-fi movie where the premise wasn’t totally unbelievable.” To say that Edwards more than achieved his goal with MONSTERS would be something of an understatement... the filmmaker recently signed on to direct Legendary Pictures` Hollywood remake of GODZILLA.

Described as “a hugely impressive disaster-come-road movie that conveys almost Spielbergian promise” by the Sunday Express and “a horror film that has plenty of heart” by the Sunday Times, MONSTERS is a beautifully shot and totally absorbing movie boasting extraordinarily strong performances by its two leads, real-life couple Scoot McNairy (IN SEARCH OF A MIDNIGHT KISS) and Whitney Able (ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE), and featuring incredible visuals and special effects that belie its modest budget. Soon after a NASA probe sent to collect samples from Jupiter’s moon, Europa, crash-landed in Central America, strange new life forms began to appear in the area forcing half of Mexico to be quarantined as an infected zone. Six years later, US and Mexican military forces are struggling to contain the fully-grown alien creatures and to control their seasonal migration within the zone. In the midst of the chaos caused by the creatures’ unusually early migration is photojournalist Andrew Kaulder (McNairy), who is hoping to get at least one ‘money shot’ of them in action. But when his publisher boss’ vacationing daughter Sam (Able) is found to be stranded in the area, Kaulder is charged with guaranteeing her secure passage through Mexico to the safety of the US border.

“A post-modern sci-fi… with a hugely involving love story” (The Guardian), the genre-busting MONSTERS is a “seriously impressive” (Mail on Sunday) and “remarkable piece of work” (The Observer) that will appeal as much to lovers of cool, indie relationship dramas as it will to fans of mainstream horror and sci-fi cinema.

UK Release

Label: Vertigo Films Release date: 11th April 2011 Release type: DVD (Region 2 PAL), Blu-ray Certificate: 12 Running time: 90 minutes Pricing: £17.99 (DVD), £19.99 (Blu-ray) Special Features Audio commentary by Gareth Edwards, Scoot McNairy and Whitney Able Behind the Scenes featurette Editing MONSTERS featurette MONSTERS VFX featurette FACTORY FARMED – short film by Gareth Edwards

Australian Release

Label: Madman Entertainment Release date: 13th April 2011 Release type: DVD (region 4 PAL), Blu-ray Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen Audio: English Dolby 5.1, DTS (DVD), LPCM 5.1 (Blu-ray) Running time: 94 minutes Pricing: $34.95 (DVD), $39.95 (Blu-ray) Special Features Exclusive Q&A at Melbourne Premiere Behind the Scenes Interviews with Cast & Crew Theatrical trailer

For more information, photos, artwork, and video clips from MONSTERS please see the earlier coverage here on SciFi Japan: