Monsters Of California

Why don´t you just sit down, relax and let me take you back to the year of 1999. For those of you who were young at that time might remember how popular punk pop was at that time after The Offspring had a huge worldwide hit with Pretty Fly ( For A White Guy ) just one year before. It was in the year of 1999 when pop punk got another hit sensation when American rock band Blink 182 released their single All The Small Things in the autumn of 1999. This music video was playing everywhere, on every channel and climbing up the single charts worldwide and especially getting the number 1 spot in both the US, UK and 2nd place in Scotland. This was from their studio album Enema Of The State which became a big seller worldwide and definetely helped Blink 182 get worldwide recognition by their fan base. At that time i was listening more to Nu Metal with the Korn album Issues, Limp Bizkit album Significant Other and the Tommy Lee project Methods Of Mayhem but i did pick up the Bling 182 album at the record store anyway. I remember enjoying it at that time and especially loved the music video of All The Small Things, especially making fun of boy bands such as Backstreet Boys. Blink 182 continued their success with the follow up album Take Off Your Pants And Jacket which i also have in my CD collection. Also a fun record if you are into punk pop / rock music. I even have the next self titled Blink 182 album released in 2003 as well. It was after touring and not getting along that the band decided to take a break in 2005. They have returned since then both with the original line up but especially one band member Tom DeLonge left and returned at different occations. Let´s stick with the band member Tom DeLonge for a while because he definetely made a lot of headlines worldwide after he publically decided to take time to investigate UFO´s instead of focusing on music all the time. I did see him in the History Channel Tv show Unidentified: Inside America´s UFO Investgation and it was an interesting show, even though i don´t know if i can believe all the theories. Either way in the autumn of 2023 i found out Tom DeLonge have released a film he directed called Monsters Of California. All i could see from the trailer was that he definetely was inspired by UFO theories and paranormal stuff as well making this film. I finally got a chance to sit down and watch this film and you might wonder, is this film better than anyone of us would have ever expected or should Tom DeLonge stick to making music instead of making films?

Dallas ( Jack Samson ) is a young man enjoying life with his best friends Riley ( Jared Scott ) and Toe ( Jack Lancaster ). Dallas mother Leah ( Arianne Zucker ) is concerned over her son trying to investigate supernatural things, when she is a devoted Christian who only wants the best for her son while having her own personal problems. One day Toe discover a mysterical device in one of Dallas father´s adult magazines in his garage. It seems that before Dallas father passed away he was investigating UFO sightings and other details in classified information. Dallas wants to find out what it was his father discovered at a certain location and bring his friends plus a new girl named Kelly( Gabrielle Haugh ) to go with him. What is the real truth and why is it classified from the public?

Remember the 2011 sci fi adventure film Super 8 from director J.J. Abrams that was a throwback to films of the past, where the main characters were young teenagers who experienced contact with aliens? Monsters Of California feels like a throwback to the 80´s and especially teenager films of that time period. In many ways i think a lot of us can relate to the characters of this film because we all remember how it was being young, where you lived life day by day and didn´t worry too much. There is even some paranormal influences in here but it is the UFO investigation that definetely is the most interesting part of Monsters Of California. Is this film original in any way? Not at all but i am ok with that, since i feel that director Tom DeLonge wanted to make a throwback to films of the 80´s and i actually feel he did a good job on this. The film looks good and i appreciate the friendship especially between the three main characters. Let´s talk about the acting and here is where we might say we have a mixed result. Some of the characters does a descent performance while others don´t really add much to the film and feels a bit stiff. But the three main actors Jack Samson, Jared Scott and Jack Lancaster have a great friendship chemistry on screen as their characters Dallas, Riley and Toe. I especially enjoy actress Gabrielle Haugh as Kelly, a cool young woman who´s just being herself. Really nice to see actor Casper Van Dien in here as the character Myers, i would have liked to see more screen time with him. We even have legendary actor Richard Kind in this film from Spin City as the character Doctor Walker. Since this film is clearly inspired by science fiction films and government secrets regarding UFO´s i feel director Tom DeLonge make this work well enough with the resources that he have. Any problems with Monsters Of California? I am sure i could probably mention a few details but why bother when i actually enjoyed this film. If you love teenage adventures from the 80´s and science fiction combined, Monsters Of California might actually please you. Director Tom DeLonge is not only a talented musician, he knows how to direct an 80´s inspired sci fi film as well. I will definetely have a look at Monsters Of California again at some point, this is my kind of popcorn film that doesn´t take itself too seriously.

Rating: DDD