Colossal

A mash-up of Far East monster movies and western 30-something angst might look odd on paper, but this startlingly original film delivers on every front and is all but assured immediate cult status. Hard-drinking party girl Gloria (Anne Hathaway) is thrown out of strait-laced boyfriend Dan Stevens's New York apartment, and returns to her tiny home town to get her life back on track. Reconnecting with childhood pal Jason Sudeikis, her road to recovery encounters a bizarre bump - a giant reptile-like creature is terrorising Seoul in South Korea, and Gloria slowly realises its actions are determined by her own behaviour on the other side of the world. There are laughs aplenty, with Hathaway a natural and charismatic comedienne, until writer/director Nacho Vigalondo throws a succession of curve balls at his audience, taking the story down unexpectedly dark paths. The concept of our inner demons manifesting themselves as real-life monsters could be a metaphor too far for some, but it results in an audacious and, in its own way, profound movie full of surprises.