We here at Fandom are very excited for A Monster Calls. It’s one of the films we picked for our list of ten movies in 2016 you didn’t know you were excited about. The fantasy tale from director J.A. Bayona (The Orphanage, The Impossible) is looking to be one of the sleeper hits of the year, and it’s given some extra importance since Bayona’s next project will be Jurassic World 2. The guy is about to hit it big and A Monster Calls is going to be a good way to gauge where he’s headed as a filmmaker in the big leagues.
A new poster for A Monster Calls was released and we’ve got it here for your eyeballs to soak in:
As someone who often bemoans the current state of poster art (damn you, floating heads!), this is a beautiful example of how to successfully sell the mood of a picture with a single image. There’s warmth, mystery, and a touch of the macabre thanks to those gravestones in the background. If this was the first bit of marketing I saw for A Monster Calls, I’d be instantly intrigued. Who is that boy? What’s that book he’s got next to him? Why is he snuggling up next to an Ent?
Bayona’s history with the thoroughly excellent Guillermo del Toro leads me to hope that A Monster Calls will fill the Pan’s Labyrinth shaped hole in my heart. There’s potential here for something truly special and heartwarming, and I am eager to jam it into my brain. If the movie unfolds like I expect, I’ll probably end up a weepy mess by the end of the movie. That’s the awesome power of stories: they can weave something beautiful and true out of thin air. It’s nice to be reminded that there’s still magic in the world like that.
A Monster Calls will roar to life on October 21.
