In terms of the overall sweep of the film, while some have talked about immigration for me the film is an allegory for Afghanistan. Watching it for myself I could see lots going on but the word that flooded my mind was 'nearly'. You already know where i'm going, so let me just get there – to me, the praise has been spread beyond this aspect in a way that the film doesn't totally deserve. This is why I think that so many critics have been quick to praise it – because it does show that 'big' effects movies can be done for less than the disgusting budget of films like Transformers 2 and so on. Made on a comparatively tiny budget with a tiny crew and with special effects done on a laptop, this film is worthy of praise for how it was made and the fact that it is reasonably good despite being made rather on the fly. What I found with Monsters though was a film that was worthy of the praise, but just not for the reasons that everyone was saying. Anyway, I tried to ignore the hype and just come to the film as fresh as I could, wary of anything that is overly praised just because I have been burnt before. I know that a tiny screen on a plane is not the place the makers wanted me to watch it but I did so anyway, so perhaps some may wish to take my opinion in that context? I don't know.

So, it was quite the nice surprise to find that this film, having only just come out in the UK, was one of those featured on a recent flight I was on. If there is one thing that critics can agree on it is that Monsters is a brilliant film and that it marks a turning point where special effects are possible on a low-budget, thus ending Hollywood's rule – forever.

Nemesis monsters in monster legends