Steve Desmond’s short horror film “Monsters” is kind of briliant in that you know it’s going somewhere, and you thankfully want to see where. Desmond’s premise is pretty unique, as we meet a normal family that have holed up in an underground bunker during what is apparently the apocalypse. Despite their youngest daughter Jenn insisting she can scavenge in the world above alongside her big brother and parents, she’s forbidden from ever stepping outside and kept inside to keep herself distracted.
One day after her parents and brother go out to look for supplies, Jenn works up the confidence and tricks them in to leaving the keys with her. With her suit and gas mask in tow, she unlocks the door and heads out in to the wilderness. Steve Desmond’s “Monsters” is an excellent and memorable little horror entry that features some really ace performances. Along with a welcome appearance by Ione Skye, the turn by Caitlin Carmichael is especially great as she plays Jenn, who is growing up and struggling to comprehend what might be waiting for her outside ofthe door.
As she pleads for a chance at going outside, she tries to instill in herself some courage to face the monsters she’s spent years drawing and cowering in a corner about. When Desmond finally turns the last screw, it’s a rather vicious jolt along with a pretty slick and gripping surprise twist that helps realize a very heavy premise filled with exposition based around a few scenes and reaction shots here and there. “Monsters” is a proposed segment for an anthology from Desmond and his company; I’d love to see it made somewhere down the line, since if all the segments are this memorable and creepy, we’re in store for a bang up horror thriller.