The movie Love and Monsters is so much fun. Discovering it late one night on Netflix was like walking down some creek you’ve walked a hundred times before, but this time you find a sapphire. It’s fun, PG, lo-fi, and in its coming-of-age story asks a big question: Can love conquer fear?
And this is a real question for humanity. The film was released in 2020. This was the year the global pandemic started. It was a year of fear and love. Incredible nurses, doctors, and those in a thousand other roles like garbage collectors and supermarket staff, overcame their fear and served people with love. But fear also conquered many hearts. In Australia alone, borders were closed, people were refused help and love, there was panic buying, spitting on shop assistants and even knife fights. And fear seems to rule much of the world right now. Wars and tyrants rage. Love seems diminished and conquered.
The movie starts with a narrator describing how asteroid Agatha 616 hurtled towards Earth. Humanity was doomed. But, humanity comes together, does what it does best and fires a bunch of rockets at the problem. And it works, but it doesn’t. Agatha is destroyed, but the chemical fallout creates mutant monsters who now rule the world. Soon, 95% of the population are dead. Life is huddling in various bunkers, hoping to survive another day. It seems fear has won.
Here’s a snippet of the fun scripting:
I didn’t really have your typical upbringing. I mean, I did at first, but then the world ended.
I don’t think anyone was really shocked. We always thought it might, and then it just finally happened. But how it happened, now that’s where it gets interesting.
Agatha 616. Yep, an asteroid heading straight for Earth.
I know. So obvious. So, humanity came together, and we did what we do best. We shot a bunch of rockets at it!
The hero of the story is Joel Dawson, played by Dylan O’Brien. He is a young man who is deeply and terribly afraid. His fear cripples him. In one moment of peril, he cannot act, even to save himself. Not only is he deeply fearful, but he is also deeply in love with Aimee, played by Jessica Henwick. But he cannot be with her. They were separated 7 years ago, and she is trapped in another compound, number 3022.
Joel is lonely. And, in love. So, he leaves the compound. Love for Aimee sends him out into danger. But will his love be enough? As Joel travels, it is clear he is still deeply and profoundly paralysed by fear, literally in some cases.
Soon, we discover the source of his fear is a loss of love. When the monsters first appear, his parents are killed before his eyes. The pain of losing his parents and their love fills him with crippling fear.
Things seem hopeless, despite Joel being the hero of this story. But then love intervenes. Joel meets a dog called ‘Boy’. They team up because they are both on a quest of love. Boy needs to find his mistress who wore the red dress. The relationship is delightful to watch, and Boy saves Joel repeatedly. But what really saves Joel is his love for Boy. In a great scene, Boy is trapped by a terrifying monster, and his death is inevitable, while Joel has escaped. But Joel risks his life to save Boy. His love conquers his fear.
This is a key idea throughout the movie. Not only does love drive us to take risks for those we love. But sacrifice is necessary for real love to exist. This idea continues to drive the plot with plenty of delightful twists and turns. And what is on view isn’t just romantic love. A wider love, for people and other things, like your dog, is an important part of the film.
Joel succeeds in reaching Aimee. But things don't turn out as he hoped. As this unfolds, Joel realises how much he was loved by his community in compound 7045. He was known and loved with a profound love. Out of this love, the plot drives toward its conclusion. Which I won’t share because I have spoiled enough of the movie already.
What enables us to take risks? Love. What enables us to overcome fear? Love. Which can’t help but take us to the gospel of Jesus Christ. For it is the greatest story of love conquering fear.
Humanity couldn’t save itself from the monstrosity of sin. All our attempts only made things worse. And so, Jesus willingly risks himself, and loses himself, in his death on the Cross because of his love for humanity:
Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4v10)
Not only that, but experiencing this love changes us. In the film, all of humanity is trapped by their fear. Yes, Joel is the most fearful. But he represents all people. They all live in bunkers and fallout shelters underground with perimeters and airlocks. Everyone lives in fear. Well, nearly everyone, apart from two delightful characters: Minnow and Clyde, who live out on the surface. You meet them later in the movie.
There is another meme-worthy line in the same chapter of 1 John:
There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. (1 John 4v18)
The perfect love in view is God’s perfect love for us in Jesus. If we know this love, it drives out every fear of God. Christ’s sacrifice turns aside God’s anger at the monstrosity of our sin and brings us into God’s love. A Christian has nothing to fear from God. Perfect love is all they will ever receive.
Receiving and knowing this love has implications for every other part of a person’s life. If we’ve come to Jesus and know God’s love, we have nothing to fear. There may be monsters, but they cannot hurt us. There may be death, but it cannot hurt us. The love of God will protect us, bringing us safely into the shelter of eternal life. This enables us to love without fear.
The gospel of Jesus tells us that love can drive out fear and conquer all monsters.