A piece of advice frequently given to aspiring writers is that the villain never sees himself as such. Indeed, the perpetrators of some of the worst atrocities in history were quite convinced they were heroes, performing noble acts for a just cause. And that is the issue at the center of MONSTERS, a ten minute short from Vamporama Films and director Chrissie Harpers.

Apart from some footage of a ruined neighborhood all of MONSTERS takes place on one set that appears to be a subway station. One complete with signs designating it an air raid shelter along with a few other slightly odder decorations. It has one occupant, a man (Liam Woon) sitting eating. He looks up at the camera and speaks “You’ve come to judge me. I can see it in your eyes”

This begins the monologue that will fill the film. I had my qualms about this going in. There’s a good reason films aren’t filled with long soliloquies, they tend to get very dull very quickly. Thankfully Woon has good dialogue to work with thanks to the script from writer/director Harper, based on an idea by producer Steve Green. Woon gives it the proper delivery too, weary and understated rather than the bombastic rant it could have been.

The subject matter is of a clash between two groups, one that has brought the world to the ruined condition it’s in. No names are given but I found it pretty easy to tell what two species he meant. It was also fairly obvious which one he belonged to well before the final reveal. But that just helps drive the question at the center of the story, “Who are the real monsters?” And the film makes a fairly strong case for it not being who you expect.

MONSTERS is currently looking for festival exposure and you can keep up to date on screenings at the Vamporama Films website.