User reviews

Unfortunately, it doesn't quite hit the mark. The movie seems to approach the UFO phenomenon from a rather misguided perspective. It's as if the narrative is being driven by a religious fanatic's viewpoint, which doesn't really serve to enlighten or entertain. The acting is passable, but nothing to write home about, and the storyline feels scattered and lacks cohesion. "Monsters Of California" is a missed opportunity to explore the fascinating world of UFOs and extraterrestrial life in an engaging and thought-provoking manner. It lacks the depth and complexity that audiences expect from a film in this genre. In short, it's a mediocre offering in a genre that has so much potential for intrigue and excitement.

I have a soft spot for Casper Van Dien, so I said I would watch this film. He's in it just for a few scenes, though. The rest is a bunch of really cute guys and girls going in circles in a film that makes no sense. Come for Casper and stay for the bikini models.

The entire story circles around a teen boy who wants to find out what happened to his dad. His friends and him are active paranormal hunters and then they discover a tech MacGuffin left there by the missing father, which then leads to aliens and other random stuff. Meanwhile you get the most pointless personal dramas, like his (very hot) mom dating and then preparing to get married and then deciding to move the family to another city. Don't worry, none of this has any relevance to the story at all.

I thought it would be a fun "young group of boys go on an adventure" thing. But everybody is either too old for this kind of plot, or too young to take seriously. And the movie is so bad... Ugh!

Tom DeLonge is a name known in the entertainment industry, so eventually he got to make a movie about his subject of interest, UFOs and alien lifeforms.

Going in, I had fairly high hopes for "Monsters of California".

I watched the entire thing, start to finish. And what a letdown it was, with way too much terribly-written dialog, three main characters who are each more annoying and unlikeable than the other, and constantly recurring unfunny dick humor that is like multiple hairs in your soup.

And, to top it off, there is no payoff, at all, whatsoever...nada.

Repulsive characters spouting idiotic dialog doing nothing the least bit believable or interesting is a formula for utter failure.

And that's all this hour-and-a-half of nothingness is...a waste of everyone's time.

We watched it for about 20 minutes and it was one scene after another with a combination of bad acting, dialogue, and direction. The three main characters are so clueless they couldn't even do what they set out to do. Ostensibly because they were stoned. One apparently took multiple doses of LSD. If a movie promises some kind of story, we'll struggle through until the end, hopeful of redemption. This movie promises nothing. Example: There was a little kid in a scene at the dinner table. She wasn't saying a word. Now, this can be hysterical if the child can act at all, because they can make faces and draw us in. This one looked like she was watching a slow-motion ping-pong match, looking back and forth with just a blank look on her face.

It's not funny, it's not well acted, it's not worth your time.

I am a huge supporter of to To The Sars academy and have actually purchased the tom delonge serious of books chasing shadows and have been a tom delonge fanatic since the age of very young.... I completely understand how hard it would be to bring out a independent film and have it slandered by people... But Tom ... I mean this sincerely ...If you are going for such a strong topic and trying to get people inside please don't make a film this silly again ...have the balls to make it serious and to the point ... Love you tom and I have a tattoo for you and will always support the movement.. but through the struggle I hate to go to watch it in Australia and than the excitement be taken away from some reeeeaaalllyyy corny story lines ... Just please try to stay to the point next time and forget the love story xxx.

I came across this movie while browsing UFO threads on Reddit. It seemed to hide clues and revelations about the whole UAP and alien affair.

Well, imagine watching a bad episode of Scooby-Doo, minus the dog, with four teenagers stumbling upon mysteries they generally escape from by literally running away. So, the first survival lesson: run.

The dialogues, moreover, are nothing short of comical. Forced humor and comedic pauses, including the old stoner friend trick.

The funny thing, though, is to notice how some dialogues are actually meant to be revealing: the movie changes its mood, and you witness a dialogue pasted there, almost randomly, that seems like a script taken from some conspiracy-minded mind.

So I managed 49 minutes of this slacker scifi adventure? /comedy.

It had a good idea in the beginning but limped along and wasn't really sure what it was going to be maybe a comedy nah nothing funny here!

The cast were amiable like a noughties scooby doo gang but minus the doo.

The legendary casper van dien makes a appearance as naval intelligence men in black kind of character but he is sorely wasted on a lacklustre script and plot. Scowling through his lines.

Do yourself a favour watch the first twenty minutes ghost house segment then cut and run you won't miss anything else noteworthy.

So to sum up scifi no, comedy no, adventure definitely not, the four stars are for the leads sister in a bikini see where I'm going with this just blah blah blah!!

Surprisingly decent if ur into the premise. The kind of movie I expect critics may not like too much but has the potential to garner a kind of cult-like appeal with its target audience. It's a happily vul

Movie definitely isn't perfect but its a happily vulgar throwback style adventure with heart. It's like 90s Kevin Smith meets 80s Spielberg. If ur offended at stoner-humor, this movie wasn't made for you. I really appreciate how it can be funny at times & poignant with messages about our place in the universe in others. (Also apparently thx to some govt insiders it allegedly has some real info.... According to filmmaker..)

Decent directorial debut and a bit ridiculous in a fun way....

Ultimately the movie is charming & entertaining if the premise catches your interest.

(EDIT - something wrong here, the movie is only out in the U. S., yet other country's users have scores & they trend lower?)

I really enjoyed this adventure film! I'm a huge Tom fan and this movie is exactly what I expected from him. The lead actors were really fun to watch and super like-able. It was a fun fantasy slacker sci-fi. It moved quickly and kept me engaged the entire time. Wasn't a dull or slow moving moment. It was fun seeing so many skate brands pop up in the film and I liked the socal skater esthetic. I hope Tom continues to make movies, I would like to see what he comes up with next. Maybe a movie about a guy in a punk rock band I the early 2000s? Just saying, I would buy that. Anyway, Tom I know you aren't reading this, but if you are, keep it up dude!

In a time, when it's been extremely important for society to release its stigma on this topic, Tom delong and to the Stars academy decides their first movie that they should release is Bill & Ted's excellent alien adventure. I have officially lost all respect for Tom delong and to the Stars academy. They are no longer in my opinion a serious agency that should be dealing with the subject. All this movie does is add to the already stigmatized subject matter. It was absolutely nothing interesting about this movie and it was absolutely ridiculous. And for a clown like Tom delong to put something like this out is absolutely disgusting. And then talk out of the other side of his face about how serious he is about this subject. Tom you should be ashamed of yourself.

... if you are interested in UFOs and if you like Hartley and DeLonge's Sekret Machines books! Because if you do, you will experience an ontological shock of a lifetime!

I could not believe how dilettante this movie was in so many respects. The story is inconsistent, implausible, self-contradictory, and lacks any subtlety. It's as if a ten-year-old tried to deliver a message.

Indeed, after about thirty minutes, I started to seriously ask myself whether this is a parody of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Independence Day, or something similar.

I have listened to many of DeLonge's interviews (e.g., by Knapp on Coast-to-Coast), and the "message" DeLonge delivered there is in stark contrast to what happens in this movie. For your own sake, I suggest you reread Hartley and DeLonge's Sekret Machines one more time insted.

As a giant fan of blink-182 and somebody inspired to pick up a guitar by DeLonge himself, I was ambivalent to see if he could make a film nowadays with his fringe beliefs and faux one-sided message that "Love wins but screw those people entirely". A viewpoint that's popular nowadays with the constant distraction of UFOs and militant ideologies being shoved down your throat in every direction you look.

As someone who can believe in aliens, believes in God, loves people, I refuse to believe Tom DeLong has anything positive to say without stomping on everybody else. Not everyone believes in nihilism.

The movie is what you would expect: Very poor writing and acting, no direction in story, and preachy. I enjoy toilet humor but it doesn't add to what Tom is so endeared with. I would be on board with him if he wasn't such an iconoclast. His music is very fun, but I'm going to have to separate art from the artist with this one. We already have enough monsters from California.

The trailer made the movie look interesting. The perspective on the paranormal film seemed different, so I wanted to give it a chance.

The pros:

Decent production quality (aside from the sound levels that would drop every 10 minutes or so and some odd camerawork). That's probably as far as the pros go.

The cons:

Laughable script. It's like a 15 year old stoner wrote the lines for the movie, and that's not an exaggeration. The character reactions to different situations are nowhere near being organic. They're just forced idealized and cliched copies of a plethora of other films.

The actors were terrible. I would say, one would expect this kind of acting in a B-flick, but even that kind of movie has better acting than this movie did. This is more in line with something a college student would make, meaning they just used the people around to be in their project, like close friends and family = people who have no acting ability.

There is no real flow to the movie. It randomly jumps from scenario to scenario with no real continuity. They ignore the main theme (not giving spoilers) and how it connects to the characters.

I get Tom DeLonge is interested in the paranormal, and this was a project for him to play with that, but he should stick to music.

So excited to see this based off the preview. Had a great start then sort of turned into a lazy, silly little real life cartoon. The ending was like a typical Chicken Soup for the Soul message...predictable and all over the place. This movie is fun but poorly written. Oh and the soundtrack reminded me of an old campy Disney movie. They attempted to tie it all up in a nice bow, but I think the bow got turned into a rats nest towards the end. Nice try but this was a silly attempt at a good movie. Maybe you should let some Australian writers help you out with the your next movie. Or just stick with your music.

I don't get it ! Really I don't !! Why do they keep doing that ?

Are they in a hurry to make movies as fast as possible ? Because this movie hasn't been "cooked" enough to say the leasst.

Do they have so much money they can afford losing it all ?

This movie is a bad movie, and that's when I'm being polite.

There is no sense in it even for a sci-fi movie.

And If you wanted to combine sci-fi, with cali-dude lunatism nonsense - there is a much better way to do it.

Nothing is good - not the plot, not the acting, not the movie and even not the CGI.

Nothing is related, nothing is resolved, and even the sentences doesn't connect with each other and the plot itself.

They talk about "answers" but give none !

This could've been done much better with a better script, better cast and better production.

Don't go waste your time and money on this one.

I have no idea who is giving this film such bad write-ups ... Obviously the critics aren't going to like it cos it ain't deep and it ain't self obsessed and arrogant ... But it is fun and feels like a breath of fresh air after the horrors of Barbie, which is the most over rated piece of brainless prole fodder to splatter our screens in years ... There is no bad acting, this ain't trying to be Shakespeare ... There's no complex plotting that misses the mark on explaining anything but one strand by the end of it ... The characters are all just ordinary people with ordinary peoples problems and getting on with life ... And there's UFOs of course ... And Bigfoot ... And it's fun, which is a rarity in film these days.

This movie was so so so bad! It ruined date night. The acting was horrible! The main character is annoying. Actually every character in this movie was annoying including the mom and sister. Not one likable character in the little that we watched. I had hope because the trailer looked interesting but NOPE! We could not make it through the movie. There is a weird religious spin on it which was confusing. It's just bad!

What bothered be the most though was the acting. I can't stress enough how bad it is. Do not even attempt to watch this movie especially if you have to pay to rent it. Buy a cheeseburger instead, it will be must more satisfying.

This movie is a waste of your time. I can't believe I wasted $4.99 on renting this. I wouldn't have watched it for free had I known how crappy it was. It's a shame too because the story could have made a decent enough movie if it had been done well. First, the actors are bad, the silliness part of the movie is misplaced like Bigfoot peeing on one of the characters and the over the top ghostly stuff, the pacing and poorly built up suspense are all just sad. This could have been so much better had the filmmakers taken the subject matter seriously instead of just one big bad joke that wasn't even funny. It's like they couldn't decide if this was a comedy, a drama or supernatural suspense. If they didn't know then how is the audience supposed to know what to make of this?

TTSA had so much potential, now it just looks like a B grade Scooby Do detective agency, Was this deliberate? How can no one in his circle not have the balls to step in and tell him this was a bad idea.

This STINKER will only achieve to belittle everything that TTSA will issue henceforth, a true tragedy for perceived disclosure which is why anyone would watch this after everything you've previously said and presented.

Again, Was this deliberate? Why Tom why?

Even the Sekret Machines books had real potential to be something.

Who would buy into anything from TTSA after this..... To be fair this would be an ok b grade film from Netflix, terrible writing, bad predictive scripting, even if it was a series it would have been better.

You could and should be so much better than this.....

Listen, you watched this movie because you're a fan Angels & Airwaves and blink-182. Tom is an inexperienced director. The Matt Rubano ( AvA bassist) cameo was great, it reminds of a cheesy 80s movie. F everyone who is saying this is a terrible movie. It's a great story, mediocre acting and writing. Tom is giving these no named actors a spot light with his name alone. Basically this is a love letter to Tom DeLonge and his passion projects. Don't hate on it. It's not great, it's not horrible. You hear Tom's music, Tom's potty humor. Nothing to complain about. Thanks for taking the time to read this. I just wanted to share this with all my fellow Tom DeLonge enthusiasts!

Close to the type of ufo film I've been waiting for. This isn't another terrible alien invasion film. It's based on the conspiracy linked back to the 40s where it all started and references the ATTIP program. There's even a scene with the Nazi bell in a hanger in the background with a flying saucer..Light hearted comedic way to look to look at everything much like Tom probably likes to. You don't have to believe in the conspiracy it's just a fun story. Really hope they eventually make more that dives deeper. I'll never understand why people go out of there way to shoot this stuff down. It's like they're scared or think they're going to change our minds. If you take the time to research ufos.. the more you learn the more compelling it is. Being skeptical is good but any good skeptic knows the material.. and still has a few good cases they know well that really makes them wonder. The topic is full of fun stories. What is most religions than stories? I would never waste my time shooting down other's beliefs and interests. Nor would I ever give a film a 1 unless it was hateful in some way.. this was great, only wish it was longer.. and I'm super excited for more from TTSA. If you're looking for some other good ufo related films/series that aren't terrible horror films.. check out the series "Taken" produced by Spielberg and his movie close encounters of the 3rd kind. The series, childhood's end, is also well written and made into a good miniseries. Please! Make more media based on the ufo stories that a lot of us find fascinating.

It's a crying shame that some people have given this film a very low rate due to it being an "out-of-this-world comedy" during its first minutes.

If you can cope with during the first minutes, you'll find yourself immersed in a philosophical, conspiratorial, dramatic, slice of lice, sci-fi and so on experience you'll definitely love.

Monsters of California is a fun alien film that blends humor and conspiracy theories. While some acting is shaky and the comedy can be a bit much, it's an entertaining ride with a unique premise. The visual effects are impressive, and the camaraderie of the main trio shines. Despite its flaws, it's a couch-worthy flick that keeps you engaged till the end.