‘They aren’t just real. They’re here.’
The Monster Project is a 2017 American action horror film directed by Victor Mathieu (CarnieVille; Dead List; Tombstone Brides) from a screenplay co-written with Corbin Billings and Shariya Lynn. The movie stars Yvonne Zima, Justin Bruening, and Toby Hemingway.
Plot:
A group of young filmmakers interview three people claiming to be ‘real life’ monsters – a skinwalker, a vampire, and a demon. When the night turns deadly, the film crew must fight evil, inside and out…
Reviews:
“There are some solid performances and a small handful of performances that feel a bit too forced to properly mesh with the more relaxed performers, but that happens. Especially when you’re young in the business. Technically speaking, things are pretty well-executed, but if there’re any major setbacks to the flick, they would be the refusal to make an attempt at originality, and the terrible CGI…” Addicted to Horror Movies
“The performances are pretty solid from the unknown cast. Zima is phenomenally beautiful as the vamp but she does overdo a bit. Beyond that, I can’t really complain; there’s not a lot of character development here but I think the whole point is to get to the part where the monsters show up which is about forty minutes into the hour and forty minute film. Quite frankly, the movie could have used some trimming as well.” Cinema 365
” …a highly entertaining film. The strengths of the cinematography, creature effects, and story more than compensate for these shortfalls. But not for the non-diegetic sound and background music, The Monster Project would easily rank among our most highly rated found footage films.” Found Footage Critic
” …the film’s second half is simply the quarreling quartet running a Halloween haunt gauntlet as they flee from and fight with the creature trio. It’s not a story. It’s not even scary. It’s a
series of frightening faces lunging at the camera in monochromatic night vision. The long home stretch of The Monster Project is everything audiences typically dislike about “found footage.” Culture Crypt
“It is not the most focused movie and it does have plenty of needless distractions and far too random moments in it, but things still manage to flow well and aren’t too bad to watch.” Boba_Fett1138
“Considering the lower budget for this feature, the visuals are definitely grand. Other than a few skewed scenes of the demonic presence that’s on the loose here, almost all the FX look great, truly lending themselves to creating a horrific environment that’s hell bent on stepping up what some might disqualify as another one of ‘those movies’. This isn’t.” The Movie Sleuth
” …deserves kudos for using some decent practical effects for its monsters, but everything else about it is sleazy to say the least — from its drain ‘found footage’ visual style, shot frequently with obnoxious ‘night vision’ effects, to the generic plot, annoying characters, and lack of any true scares…” CineMarvellous!
Buy DVD: Amazon.co.uk
“The action is relentless and while it’s purposefully hard to follow, with more shadow than light, it’s always compelling, though it does wear and the lack of normal light is an issue. The ending comes out of nowhere and doesn’t quite hold up, swapping lore and betraying a bit of the great setup, but there are still good things happening here, a pulse-pounding terror, it is far better than the average found footage flick with some smart scares.” That Moment In
“This was a fun-filled hell-ride but more serious found footage fans will probably turn their noses up at it… and rightly so. You have to go into it with a pretty open mind and a love for ‘horror popcorn for the brain’. It’s not exactly memorable and it’s not exactly successful (on many levels), yet it still manages to offer a decent level of entertainment.” Top Found Footage Films
Main cast:
- Yvonne Zima
- Justin Bruening
- Toby Hemingway – The Girl in the Photographs; Black Swan; The Covenant; Playback
- Murielle Zuker
- Jim Storm
- PeiPei Alena Yuan
- Martin Lee White
- Shayne Eastin
- Shiori Ideta
- Zac Cracknell
- Phillip Sebal
- Pat Scott
- Jamal Quezaire
- Steven Flores
- Susan Stangl
Film Facts:
The film had been in development since 2013.
