Monster is a 2008 direct-to-DVD Japanese daikaiju film. The film is a mockbuster created to capitalize 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.
Plot
The film takes place in Tokyo in 2003, where two reporters, Erin and Sarah Lynch, have arrived 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, 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. The tremors are found not to be caused by an earthquake, but by a gigantic octopus that has been dormant for centuries. It has since been awakened by mankind and now sees Tokyo as a new feeding-ground; the filmmakers document the catastrophe as it unfolds. It starts as Erin and Sarah are talking about filming Tokyo. The scene then switches to the interior of Erin'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, Sarah films Erin 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. They find a survivor named Justin Robbins, 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, Erin 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 the collapse damages 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 Sarah abandons Erin. A tentacle slams into the ground where Erin is and she is wounded. Additionally, the camera's batteries run low. Sarah cries for Erin as the crash of a tentacle hitting the ground is heard, ending the film, which indicates that the reporters were crushed by the monster and were among the thousands, if not millions, killed.
Reception
The few reviews of the film posted online have been extremely negative. Scott Foy of Dread Central did an audio file 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; it culminates 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. Other reviews referred to the Film as being 'terrible,' its pacing as 'horrendous' and the overall film to be 'astoundingly dull.'
