Trailer Review: ‘A Monster Calls’ Is Wild And Spectacularly Told

‘A Moster Calls’ is the wildly imaginative story of when a monster becomes your best friend and strongest ally.

Lewis MacDougall leans against his monster in a scene from A Monster Calls. (Photo courtesy: YouTube/Relativity B4U)

Being afraid of monsters is so passe. A Monster Calls is all about having a monster as your best friend. Juan Antonio Bayona’s visually spectacular story featuring Lewis MacDougall, Felicity Jones, Sigourney Weaver and Liam Neeson is a fresh new take on the fantastical world of monsters and fairytales that explores courage, loss and faith with such intrigue.

Based on Patrick Ness’ award winning novel by the same name, A Monster Calls tells the story of a 12 year old boy named Conor O’Malley (Lewis MacDougall), who is dealing with his mother’s (Felicity Jones) terminal illness and is forced to live with his less-than-sympathetic grandmother (Sigourney Weaver). He’s bullied at school and his only ally becomes the monster (Liam Neeson), that comes alive from his drawings.

Meet the monster - a 40-foot-high colossal creature who tells Conor stories through his bedroom window and insists that he visualises them powerfully. And then Conor begins telling his own powerful stories, in which the monster helps him crash and break all that holds him back. Ancient, wild, and relentless, the Monster guides Conor on his journey like the father he never had.

The film hits theatres worldwide on 6 January, 2017.