© FAKESHEMP.NET
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • MEDIA
    • Videos >
      • Photos
  • GLG
  • Blog
  • Interviews
  • WTF was that?
  • Good Movie Monday
  • About

MAIL ORDER MONSTER

6/10/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
2018 | DIR. PAULINA LAGUDI | REVIEW BY GLENN COCHRANE.

Picture
Taking cues from numerous iconic films, director Paulina Lagudi has stitched together a patchwork of influences to create MAIL ORDER MONSTER, a family-friendly science fiction adventure that tells the story of a grieving child and her robot friend. The movie wears those influences on its sleeve, making no secrets of those films, which inspired it. And so with full admission the movie tells a heart-warming tale about overcoming adversity and having faith in one's self.​

​Sam (Madison Horcher) is a pre-teen girl who witnessed her mother die in a car accident. Three years after the tragedy she is faced with the reality of her father remarrying and she is troubled by thoughts of a new person replacing her mum. To compound matters she is persistently tormented by a school bully. Things change when she discovers a clip-out advertisement on the back of a comic book and sends away for a mail-order monster. The delivery finally arrives in a big create and is revealed to be a life-sized robot, which comes to life and assumes a protective role.

And so the story goes... part E.T., part Iron Giant, MAIL ORDER MONSTER adheres to a tried and true formula and presents an inspiring fantasy for impressionable kids. The film's aesthetic is often uneven, with strong cinematography often at odds with a lack-lustre production design. There are moments which boast a strong theatrical appeal, which are – unfortunately – countered by a distinct made-for-DVD texture. These factors will more than likely elude the movie's target demographic and what remains is an effective coming of age story, cut from a familiar cloth.
Picture

​Madison Horcher offers a reliable performance in the movie's lead role, and her ability to tap into a variety of emotions help to elevate the move beyond its restrictive DTV status. The robot character is well conceived, baring a striking resemblance to the Iron Giant, and its presence and characteristics are more akin to the robot from the rebooted Lost In Space series. In fact the relationship between robot and child is almost identical.
​

With a welcome running time of approximately 80-minutes, and a delightful musical score helping to overcome the movie's shortcomings, MAIL ORDER MONSTER makes for an overall satisfying and nostalgic dramatic adventure. In today's home-entertainment climate being bombarded with content, movies like this tend to get lost in the fold. Fewer people are turning to DVD, which forces this stuff onto streaming services. And with such a cluster of choices, movies like this are easily hidden amongst it all. With a little luck its poster-art will catch the attention of kids, and hopefully those who review it can hang their adult receptors at the door and watch it with a child's mind.  ​
​
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    OUR WRITERS
    GLENN COCHRANE
    ALYSSA DE LEO
    ALEX MAYNARD
    CHRIS THOMPSON
    SAMANTHA HOWSON​
    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    September 2010
    April 2010

    RSS Feed

© 2018 FakeShemp.Net    All rights reserved.  FakeShemp.Net Illustrations by MJ Barros. 
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • MEDIA
    • Videos >
      • Photos
  • GLG
  • Blog
  • Interviews
  • WTF was that?
  • Good Movie Monday
  • About