Monolith (2023) Review!!

Synopsis – While trying to salvage her career, a disgraced journalist begins investigating a strange conspiracy theory. But as the trail leads uncomfortably close to home, she is left to grapple with the lies at the heart of her own story.

My Take – Though single location set films make for an easier production, the bigger challenge they face is to sell their intriguing premise and deliver a cohesive and engaging cinematic experience.

Thankfully, this latest Australian sci-fi podcast thriller, written by Lucy Campbell, and ably directed by Matt Vesely, brilliantly and disturbingly flips budgetary constraint from disadvantage to narrative asset, surprising us with its absorbing conspiracy story. Resulting in a fabulous experience that blurs the lines between fantasy, horror and psychological thriller.

Using a single location and only one on-screen actor, the film skillfully uses its limitations to heighten tension and weave a darkly claustrophobic narrative through the podcaster’s deep-dive into the origins of the mysterious artifact.

Yes, the film’s concept shares certain resemblances to 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Arrival (2016), however, director Matt Vesely manages to thread his own path to create something that is both haunting and atmospheric. The pacing keeps that same energy throughout, with a gripping final act and an ending that leaves you perplexed.

Aside from voices on tape or telephone, the Interviewer is the only character we actually meet, hence, Lily Sullivan’s lead performance is therefore crucial, and she delivers a complex and charismatic turn, ensuring that the proceedings remains compelling despite the character’s often unsympathetic and distinctly unethical actions. A performance which brings the veracity of some of the events we have witnessed into question.

The story follows The Interviewer (Lily Sullivan), a disgraced journalist whose former professional life got burned due to her errors in checking her sources’ background information before publishing. Something which led to a defamation trial against the accusatory claims she wrote about in her article that was also prevalent in the media.

Having lost the case, her job, and her credibility, she even issued a public apology, though she personally still believed in her claims against the said accused. Now back depressed and alone in her parents’ large home while they are away, she is employed by a new venture called “Beyond Believable,” a podcast that explores things unexplainable.

A mysterious email leads her to someone called Floramae King (the voice of Ling Cooper Tang) and a black brick. Darker than anything you’ve ever seen, with no origin, and difficult to understand the purpose of. It does, however, always evoke a strange feeling in the people receiving it. As the various clues start leading her uncomfortably close to home, she is forced to face what lies at the heart of her own story.

Indeed, director Matt Vesely has created a gorgeous sci-fi thriller. One that offers a sleek look with lots of cold energy that is then contrasted by warm colors that help you get under the skin of the story. The tone of the film is dark and suspenseful, with a creeping sense of dread that builds throughout the story. The film works far more than a clever manipulation of constraint to heighten tension, and it doesn’t rely solely on alien threat to generate its deliciously ominous atmosphere. While standing solidly in the science-fiction genre, it is at heart a human story.

Anchored by Lucy Campbell’s tight script, the film turns the economy of its setting into a virtue, never overplaying its hand. As events shift towards the sinister, the viewer is forced to share the protagonist’s increasingly solitary position, struggling to decide where the truth lies.

The horror here is mostly psychological, the tension building as Lily becomes increasingly stressed as aspects of the mystery partially circle back to her own past. But there are some gruesome scenes, including the creation of a brick and a violent clash in the climax, which offers no easy way out, yet satisfies without resolving all of the plot’s riddles.

It helps that Lily Sullivan, who is the only person on screen for the entire film, delivers a standout performance as the ethically dubious journalist, effortlessly holding the focus of the entire film as her character free falls from disgrace through mania and into madness. Bringing depth and nuance to a character that could have easily been one-dimensional.

The supporting voice-acting cast, which includes the likes of Terence Crawford, Ling Cooper Tang, Erik Thomson, Ansuya Nathan, Damon Herriman, Kate Box and Matt Crook, bring their own unique energy to their respective roles. On the whole, ‘Monolith’ is a peculiar sci-fi thriller that offers a cohesive and engaging cinematic experience.