Last year, **Empire **hosted the BFI London Film Festival's Laugh Gala. This time, though, we swapped chuckles for frag grenades and Humvees, strapped on our night-vision goggles and headed into Leicester Square to introduce Monsters: Dark Continent to the world. Cast, crew and an array of expectant eyeballs were in attendance for the film’s world premiere.
Co-writer / director Tom Green was on hand to introduce his cast of G.I.s and his loyal production partners at Vertigo Films, before smashing a metaphorical champagne bottle on the IMAX screen and launching his extra-terrestrial mayhem out into the world.
Unlike Gareth Edwards’ Monsters, this one is a straight-up war film that by turn channels The Hurt Locker, Generation Kill and Tremors. Balls are out and weapons are free as Johnny Harris and his squad of US soldiers negotiate the twin perils of seemingly hostile aliens, by now stomping across the Middle-East in vast herds, and the local insurgents who want to kill Americans and aliens alike. It’s a complex situation that Detroit local Sam Keeley soon finds himself right in the middle of.
If you’ve seen the trailer, you’ll know that this is a whole different kettle of tentacle-y fish than its predecessor. Prepare to suspend expectations from November 28 when **Monsters: Dark Continent **goes on general release in the UK.