MONOLITH (2022)

New in select theaters and On Demand from Well Go USA!
Directed by Matt Vesely.
Written by Lucy Campbell.
Starring Lily Sullivan
Check out the trailer here!!

EVIL DEAD RISE’s Lily Sullivan plays a disgraced journalist who now runs a conspiracy blog. When she receives a strange anonymous email concerning a vast mystery, she tracks down a series of unexplainable phenomena concerning solid black bricks showing up containing strange codes within their structure. As she digs deeper, more strangeness occurs as she seemingly manifests a brick of her own simply through thought alone and uncovers deep, dark secrets from her own past.

MONOLITH is not going to be for everyone. For the most part, it centers on one actor in a room talking with various people over the phone and online. Most likely filmed during the pandemic, this film remains a big mystery in a small package. While it is professionally made in every way, MONOLITH is a shining example of less is more, maintaining a solid and transfixing story on a very low budget. Some may find the continuous switching from one conversation to the next as Sullivan’s character desperately gets pulled into this conspiracy and frantically investigates to find the truth that becomes more personal the longer she looks into it. But Lucy Campbell’s script peppers in revelations and more mysteries on top of one another and I was transfixed the entire way through.

The black brick is quite the metaphor as it could represent almost any kind of negative thing that occurs in one’s life come back to haunt them. It basically is Sullivan’s dark past made form and once it hits personally, one could argue that it involves any dark secret one has kept buried and unaddressed. MONOLITH’s story keeps the true meaning under wraps, allowing the viewer to hypothesize as to what exactly it is. Is it a vast government conspiracy? An alien invasion? Or simply a personal nightmare come to life? Those looking for definite answers are going to be disappointed, but those who allow a little wiggle room for interpretation might enjoy how vast this subject matter can be canvassed.

While answers are not certain in MONOLITH, the fact that Lily Sullivan is one hell of an actress certainly is. She was kind of overshadowed by all of the blood and spectacle of EVIL DEAD RISE, but here it’s simply her, raw, full of passion and emotion, attempting to uncover a mystery that gets more compelling the longer it remains unanswered. Director Matt Vesely should also be complimented greatly for making this movie look and feel interesting, though it only moves outside of one house towards the end of the film. This is a vibrant film, despite its closed confines. MONOLITH is one hell of a mystery and while the answers are left up to you, the performances, the struggle, and the absolute horror of secrets unearthed are apparent from beginning to end. This is one hell of a quiet, yet pervasive shocker that shouldn’t be missed.