In the wake of an alien infestation that has rendered areas of the US-Mexico border a no-go area, two seemingly mismatched travellers attempt to traverse the danger zone in this blend of sci-fi speculation and character drama. Aspiring photojournalist Andrew (Scoot McNairy, from indie favourite In Search of a Midnight Kiss) is hardly enthused by the prospect of ushering heiress Sam (Whitney Able) back home to her waiting fiancé, yet we're soon convinced that clinging together in adversity is sparking something between these two displaced souls. Monsters is an enterprising debut from British writer/director Gareth Edwards, and the film cannily deploys its modest budget to convince us that towering, spindly squid-like aliens are indeed stalking the earth. Mixing road movie, romance and extraterrestrials might sound unlikely, yet the film draws something fresh, suspenseful and affecting from it. And, unusually for such creature features, it's the story's human dimension that is arguably its strongest suit - the chemistry between the leads is obviously authentic, since they subsequently tied the knot in real life.

Six years ago NASA discovered the possibility of alien life within our solar system. A probe was launched to collect samples, but crashed upon re-entry over Central America. Soon after, new life forms began to appear and half of Mexico was quarantined as an infected zone. Today, the American and Mexican military still struggle to contain "the creatures," while a journalist agrees to escort a shaken tourist through the infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the U.S. border.