Monsters: Dark Continent

Ten years after the events depicted in Monsters (2010), the Infected Zones have spread worldwide, further undermining hopes for peace in the Middle East. A unit of naive army recruits, led by veteran Johnny Harris (in superb grizzled mode), are sent into the danger zone, only for them to realise that the giant squid-like extraterrestrials might not be their deadliest threat after all. On a par with the affecting original film, debut director Tom Green crafts his own inspirational vision using the template created by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla), while expanding the sci-fi myth in extraordinarily thrilling and thought-provoking ways. Green refuses to shy away from the horrors of combat (including the threat of sudden death from sniper fire), while the evocative newsreel-style grittiness makes the spectacular creature scenes shine all the brighter. It all makes for a powerful metaphor for the human condition during wartime, executed with remarkable skill, confidence and an astute fantasy feel.