10 Best Movies You Can Watch For Free (Legally) On YouTube Right Now
3. Monsters
Before he made Godzilla and Rogue One, director Gareth Edwards made Monsters, a thrilling low-budget sci-fi following two people as they trek through the dangerous "Infected Zone", home to a mysterious species of tentacled alien creatures.
One of the most remarkable things about the movie is the fact that it boasts phenomenal cinematography and visual effects, despite being made for practically nothing. Edwards wrote the film, directed it, shot it, and even did all the visual effects on his personal computer, by himself, using Adobe software. All of this, and Monsters still feels, looks and sounds like it cost tens of millions of dollars.
True, the creatures aren't seen for most of the runtime (a decision that, like Jaws, only helps them seem more terrifying and threatening when they finally do appear), but the craftsmanship on display here is astounding. As an added bonus, leads Scoot McNairy and Whitney Able handle Edwards' thoughtful script with grace, elevating some potentially cheesy material with their restrained, grounded performances.
If you go in expecting a gore-fest, a ton of action, or a lot of cool aliens, you'll be disappointed. Instead, Monsters is a touching human story with an otherworldly sci-fi paint job, and in that respect, it almost feels like something Spielberg would have made in the '70s or '80s.