Theme: Monstrous Encounters

Monstrous Encounters are films that feature monsters but are not Monster Movies. A monster movie will feature a giant monstrosity, a mutation, the resurrected dead or animals amok. The key aspect of a monster movie is that the monster is an antagonistic force that threatens the social order. The drama of the story will focus on the protagonists (either on an individual level or as part of a social group such a scientists and the military) as they fight against the monster before (usually) determining a means to defeat them.

By contrast, Monstrous Encounters are the monsters that might be encountered during an Epic Fantasy, a mythological adventure or a Planetary Adventure. (In role-playing games, these are usually referred to as Wilderness Encounters). These may threaten a village, the local countryside or the party of adventurers but their import to the story is crucially never more than a threat that is arrayed against the heroes of the title. The drama in Monster Movies are focused on the fight against the monster; the drama in Monstrous Encounters is focused on the hero’s journey.