Source: Magnet Releasing
One of the most hyped movies to premiere at this year’s South By Southwest Film Festival was Gareth Edward’s first full-length effort Monsters, a creature feature that aimed to turn the genre on it’s ear. Within hours of its world premiere, Wagner/Cuban’s Magnet Releasing (the genre unit of Magnolia Pictures) picked up US rights to the film. For a more in depth read about the film itself, check out Hollywood.com contributor Peter Hall’s latest Mind Food blog.
Produced by Allan Niblo and James Richardson of Vertigo Films (Bronson), the film was shot as a road movie, traveling through Guatemala, Mexico and the US, involving local people alongside its key cast Scoot McNairy and Whitney Able.
The film is described as follows:
Six years ago previously, a NASA probe returning to earth with samples of an alien life form, crashed over Central America. Soon after, new life forms began to appear, and half of Mexico was quarantined as an “INFECTED ZONE. Today, the American and Mexican military still struggle to contain “the creatures”… The story begins when a US journalist agrees to escort a shaken American tourist through the infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border.
Tom Quinn, SVP of Magnolia Pictures acquisitions, commented: “We were blown away by ‘Monsters’ – I can’t think of a more exciting addition to the Magnet slate. Gareth Edwards is an extraordinary talent and we’re thrilled to bring his vision to American audiences.”
Producers Allan Niblo and James Richardson commented: “Having kept the film a secret for so long, Vertigo is thrilled to have Magnet not only discover it at this year’s SXSW Fest but immediately become our US partner on this groundbreaking movie. We are all looking forward to releasing ‘Monsters’ together onto an unsuspecting world.”
