Over the years, there have been plenty of films which have tried to bridge the gap between shudder-inducing horror films and sci-fi thrillers. Enter Monsters, a British film featuring a largely improvised script and an extremely small budget as far as films go these days.

In the movie, alien creatures have taken over half of Mexico, leading it to be quarantined. American photographer, Andrew, goes to Mexico in search of his rich boss’s daughter, Samantha, who is stuck in the quarantine. Thus, the story begins. A fairly easy plan to get her back to America goes awry and the jaded photographer must now lead Samantha back to America himself.

Actors Scoot McNairy and Whitney Able play the story’s protagonists. Director Gareth Edwards wanted unmistakable chemistry between the main characters. Able, McNairy’s wife, happened to be an actress and thus landed the role.

Many of the scenes in the film were shot on location without permission, thus the extras in the film are people who just happened to be around when filming was taking place. There were no actual lines or a script, just rough descriptions of each scene. The film was edited to combine a variety of improvised collections of dialogue instead of the usual “takes.”

The creatures in the film were made in the director’s home using Adobe software, and the total budget of the film rounds out to about $500,000. Up-and-coming filmmakers may want to take notes. Apparently, big budget and big-name actors aren’t everything. The unconventional production of this film alone makes it worth checking out. Of course, we have a trailer for your viewing pleasure.

We wouldn’t expect the biggest and baddest, coolest looking monsters you’ve ever seen, but audiences do seem to be in store for a very unique film experience.

Monsters is in U.S. theaters now.

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