I’ve been a fan of both director Gareth Edwards and his debut film Monsters since seeing it and interviewing him at SXSW earlier this year. The film is terrific and Edwards is definitely a talented writer/director whose star is on the rise.

Obviously, others agree with my assessment as Edwards has recently made a deal for his next project. He will team with Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov on a science fiction film that Edwards is writing and will direct. Bekmambetov will produce the film along with Jim Lemley.

The project is described as “an epic human story, set in a futuristic world without humanity.” Edwards will finish the script and then he and Bekmambetov will reportedly take it out to studios for financing.

With Edwards able to make so much out of Monsters with so little money to work with it will be very interesting to see what he will be able to do with a larger budget. Teaming with Bekmambetov seems like a great idea and I, for one, can’t wait to see what this partnership yields.

Let’s be honest, Hollywood puts out a lot of crap these days. Sure, they do manage to bring out a few interesting or compelling ones but for every Inception, Star Trek or Toy Story 3 you get countless other movies like Twelve, The Last Airbender, Dinner for Schmucks or pretty much anything featuring Nicholas Cage.

Another movie that belongs on the “good” list is Gareth Edwards’ Monsters. I first saw the film at this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival and gave it a very positive review. The film was subsequently picked up for distribution and as a result we’ve started to get promotional materials for it, starting recently with the first trailer.

Now, we’ve also got the first official poster for the film to share with you today. In it, we get a sense of what the film is about and also get a look at the main characters. Having seen the film already, I feel this poster does a good job of capturing the film’s essence. Kudos to the marketing department for putting this together.

Monsters is a very good film worth all the attention it will most certainly get. Check out a larger version of the poster after the jump and be sure to see Monsters when it hit theaters on October 29th.

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I’ve been a fan of director Gareth Edward’s film Monsters since I first saw the film during SXSW many months ago. I gave it a positive review and was particularly impressed with Edwards’ ability to craft a story, have interesting characters and have cool monsters all in the same film.

In the months following the film’s debut at SXSW it has picked up a distributor, played at several more festivals and should be coming to you soon enough. To help move that along and get you interested, Magnolia Pictures has released the first trailer for the film out into the wilds of the Internet.

In it you get to see a glimpse of what Edwards’ film has to offer and regardless of the comparisons to something like Cloverfield, Monsters deserves to stand on its own eight feet, er, tentacles. Watch the trailer and then watch the movie when you can. You won’t regret taking the chance.

Check out the trailer after the jump. And keep checking back here for all your Monsters info as I will be keeping track of this one and whatever Edwards does next.

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When you go to as many film festivals and see as many movies as I do, it is refreshing to find a film from out of virtually nowhere that gives you renewed faith in the filmmaking process. During SXSW I was lucky enough to discover such a film: Gareth Edwards’ Monsters.

As I said in my review, Monsters takes several elements and blends them together well to create a director’s singular vision. It was one of my favorite movies from SXSW. I had a chance to sit down with the talented Mr. Edwards during the fest and over a couple of beers discovered the man behind the Monsters.

The Flickcast: First off, let’s talk a bit about your background.

Gareth Edwards: Sure, well, like a lot of people it all began when I saw Star Wars. I basically decided I wanted to join the Rebel Alliance and blow up the Death Star. But then I learned that it was all made up by someone called a filmmaker so I decided I wanted to be one of those instead.

TFC: A lot of directors like to plan out shots, do storyboards, etc. You didn’t even really have a completed script for Monsters, right?

GE: I had a scene by scene outline but I didn’t want to write dialog. Although, it’s funny when you say to an actor “I don’t want to write the dialog” then they say “Well I have to write it then.” But that’s not what I wanted.

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Much Like District 9, Cloverfield and Paranormal Activity before it, Monsters exists in a world where filmmakers with a singular vision just decide one day to go out and make the film they’ve always wanted to make. Packing his cast and a small crew into a van, writer/director Gareth Edwards traveled for several months throughout Central America in an attempt to realize that vision. Monsters is the result.

Part alien invasion, part road movie and part love story, Monsters balances all three well and manages to entertain and generate quite a few thrills and suspenseful moments. It also has other moments of genuine humor, emotion and character which are often lacking in other more mainstream films and doesn’t rely on heavy-handed spectacle to get its points across.

It’s also the strength of the developing relationship between the two leads, Kaulder (Scoot McNairy) and Sam (Whitney Able), which gives Monsters its emotion center. Perhaps it’s because the two leads developed a real romantic relationship over the course of making the film that their onscreen relationship works so well. You believe it because it’s actually happening.

As they go through the ordeal of the film, you trust they are experiencing what is happening to them and as they do, this brings them closer together. At first, of course, they are far apart but as the film progresses and the danger increases, they draw closer and must fight together to survive. Adversity, as it often does, brings people closer together, and these two are no exception.

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