★★★★ out of ★★★★★
🚫 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
Directed by Matt Vesely
After failing to fact-check a story, a disgraced journalist, known to us only as “the interviewer” (Lily Sullivan) decides to turn to podcasting (naturally) as a way to revamp her career. Her podcast, “Beyond Believable” focuses on weird and unexplained phenomena where people can email her their stories for her to investigate. When an email providing only a name and the story of a mysterious black brick is delivered to her inbox, the interviewer is drawn into a web of stories (and possible alien conspiracies) that go back years, and as she untangles them, begins to hit very close to home.
Monolith was written by Lucy Campbell, who expertly crafted a wonderfully paced script. Despite the minuscule cast, this one-woman (and a turtle) show will keep you glued to the screen. Fans of Pontypool and Scariest Things favorite The Vast of Night, as well as the films of Brit Marling and Shane Carruth will not want to miss Monolith.
Lily Sullivan is becoming a bit of a hot commodity as she is also starring in the upcoming Warner Brothers studio feature Evil Dead Rise, another film that also had its premiere launch at SXSW. It looks to be a big year for Aussie genre films, as Late Night with the Devil and the much-buzzed-about Talk To Me are also working their way through the festival circuit right now.
Monolith had its international premiere a few weeks ago at South by Southwest and will be making a stop at the Overlook Film Festival this weekend in New Orleans with chances to see it on Friday, Saturday and Monday.