Needless to say that I wasn't harboring any expectations to this 2023 movie titled "Monsternado". I had not heard about it, prior to stumbling upon it by random chance, and I sort of figured that it would be in the likes of the cheesy "Sharknado" movies. And since I had not heard about it, nor seen it before, then of course I opted to give director Tyler-James a fair chance with this movie.
The storyline in "Monsternado", as written by Derek Miller, is generic, so very, very generic. If you have seen any of the "Sharknado" movies, then you have essentially already also seen "Monsternado". So yeah, you're not in for anything grand here, aside from a generic and predictable plot and storyline. There is a sense of lack of coherency to the storyline, as it is a bit all over the place, as if writer Derek Miller wanted to be everywhere all at once. And it made zero sense that people would go about their daily business and routines on the streets whenever you saw streetviews in the movie, especially since there was supposed to be a massive storm with deadly creatures wrecking havoc on the city. It was just not logical.
There wasn't a single familiar face on the cast list, and that was actually something that spoke in favor of the movie, well aside from Danielle Scott. Yeah, I've seen enough questionable movies to reckognize her. I like seeing unfamiliar talents on the screen when I watch movies, so I was in for a treat here, if you will. The acting performances in "Monsternado" were fair enough for a movie of this type. Just don't go expecting award winning performances and you're not setting yourself up for disappointment.
You would assume that the waters around a massive water spout would be turbulent and tumultuous, but apparently not in this movie. And also, people with long hair near the spouts didn't seem to have billowing hair about them. So there were some serious issues going on with how nature works.
The visual effects in the movie are a mixed bag of nuts in "Monsternado". Some of the CGI looks corny, and some look rather rigid and fake. But then there are some effects that actually look good. But at least they tried their best. And in all honest, then the CGI effects in "Monsternado" weren't among the worst of effects I've seen in movies, and that counts for something to the overall impression of the movie, doesn't it?
And why is it that creature features like this always need to have growling sharks?
While I did manage to sit through all 81 minutes, I can honestly say that "Monsternado" is not a movie that I will ever return to watch a second time.
My rating of "Monsternado" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.
