A Monster Calls

"Stories are wild creatures."

2016 1h 48m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

🍅

86%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.4

IMDB

★7.3TMDB · 3,668🍅86%Rotten Tomatoes●76Metacritic★7.4IMDB · 100,010

FantasyAdventureFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

12-year-old Conor encounters an ancient tree monster who proceeds to help him cope with his mother's terminal illness and being bullied in school.

“Stories are wild creatures.”

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Cast

Lewis MacDougall
Conor
Sigourney Weaver
Grandma
Felicity Jones
Mum
Toby Kebbell
Dad
Ben Moor
Mr. Clark
James Melville
Harry
Oliver Steer
Sully
Dominic Boyle
Anton

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: J. A. Bayona
Writers: Patrick Ness
Languages: English
Countries: Spain, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 10 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Spain, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by J. A. Bayona, shot by Óscar Faura. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Fernando Velázquez. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jaume Martí shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Lewis MacDougall and Sigourney Weaver and Felicity Jones carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Stories are wild creatures.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt3416532 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

J. A. Bayona directs. Óscar Faura behind the camera. Fernando Velázquez scores. Jaume Martí cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Spain, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 10 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: Spain, United States of America.
3Directed by J. A. Bayona, shot by Óscar Faura. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Fernando Velázquez. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Jaume Martí shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Lewis MacDougall and Sigourney Weaver and Felicity Jones carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Stories are wild creatures.".
8IMDB entry: tt3416532 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 14 themes, including "dreams", "monster", "based on novel or book", "nightmare".
10Released under 13 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Óscar Faura
Original score: Fernando Velázquez
Editing: Jaume Martí
Production design: Eugenio Caballero
Costume design: Stephen Noble
Makeup / hair: Marese Langan
VFX supervisor: Ferran Domenech
Sound: Oriol Tarragó
Stunt coordinator: Ian van Temperley
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $43,000,000
Box office: $47,309,313
Return: 110% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: A Monster Calls (2016)
Rotten Tomatoes: 86% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 76/100
IMDB rating: 7.4/10 · 100,010 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

39 wins & 57 nominations total

Goya Award for Best Original Score
Goya Award for Best Sound
Goya Award for Best Art Direction
Goya Award for Best Editing
Goya Award for Best Director
Goya Award for Best Special Effects
European Film Award for Best Sound Designer
Goya Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyles
Goya Award for Best Production Supervision
Goya Award for Best Cinematography

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

J. A. Bayona

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2017-09-04
★ 7/10
An alternate way to confront the reality. Based on the British novel, made by a well known Spanish director. This film might remind you the titles like 'Finding Neverland', 'Where the Wild Things Are', 'Neverwas' et cetera, but still it is unique. Particularly for the message it carried out. Many lines were awesome, inspiring for those whose world are crumbling down. Emotional, as well as one of the best recent children's films. The story of a boy whose mother is severely ill. He starts to have weird dreams, following, an appearance of a tree-monster from the nearby cemetery. The monster is to tell a few tales and at the end of it, he has to tell the truth about his nightmares to him. So as the days go by, it becomes more challenging to him to confront the reality. He can't run away from all, but to face it and those are the remaining narration. While being a kid, they believe every fantasy tale have narrated to them. Even a picture of those tales would influence to have an imagination in their daily life activity. This film does not hide anything from the viewers just to bring a breathtaking twist at the finale. So, you would know what's happening, but why, is the puzzle to solve. Even that is not a hard nut to crack. Though the purpose of the film is to reveal how some children cope a tragic event in their life, like perhaps the film 'Before I Wake', with misunderstanding the words said by the grown ups to them. This is really a wonderful film for kids, as well as for adults. I Hope you won't miss it. 7/10
badelf2022-08-14
★ 7/10
This is a very enjoyable tale. It's targeted to younger viewers, and therefore the characters are not at all complex. In spite of that shortcoming from an adult's POV, the overall effect is wonderful and emotional. Definitely worth the time.
Filipe Manuel Neto2022-11-28
★ 4/10
It's not a hateful or forgettable movie, but it's far from being lively or happy. Despite its weaknesses, I confess I liked this film, and that maybe comes from the fact that it touched me personally. Being a film that is so focused on the pain of losing someone dear, on how a person faces situations of suffering and manages to digest it, it was a film that cost me a little to watch because I also lost a very dear person recently. I expected a more cheerful film with a more lively tone. That, yes, partially frustrated my expectations, and I believe that other people will also say the same. However, I cannot say that I hated what I saw. In fact, the script focuses on a young teenager who has to live his day-to-day life, at school and at home, while mentally and psychologically preparing himself for the imminent orphanhood, as his mother is very ill and, we know it, will die soon. And in the midst of all this, he ends up imagining, in a very realistic way, a big monster that comes to visit him and that forces him to deal with the feelings he is feeling, and to deal with situations, and also with a grandmother with who has relationship problems. Directed by J.A. Bayona is a relatively average film. The script is predictable, the "monster-tree" is something we've seen in other films, but it's always a good idea, especially if it's supposed to be a wise and ancient monster, as is the case here. Lewis MacDougall is the young man who will have the lead role in the film, and he does it quite well, even though the script is not very demanding on him. I also enjoyed Felicity Jones' performance, even though the actress doesn't really have much to do. And I feel sorry for Sigourney Weaver, because she's a good actress in the wrong role. It was a massive casting error, and it would have been preferable to cast a genuinely British actress in the role, rather than an American with a notoriously faked accent. Technically, the highlight obviously goes to the CGI, which is good enough and does an interesting job, especially in the scenes where the tree “awakens” to move and reveal its real appearance. I also liked the soundtrack, even if it's not the most memorable or interesting, and the cinematography, which does its job flawlessly. Liam Neeson was, once again, responsible for the voice of the monster. The actor is already a veteran of dubbing and has given voice to many fantastic characters in other films, so it was a sure bet for the production.