The surprise hit of the summer? THE MEG, starring Jason Statham.
Here’s why this movie works, even if you know the ending. (Spoiler: I don’t need to tell you the ending. Come on.)
1) Monster in the House is a powerful and primal story
THE MEG isn’t a horror movie, actually.
In a true horror movie, the hero is actually the monster, who’s punishing society for its sins. That’s why the monster in horror movies is the star who keeps returning for the sequels.
Cineplexes around the world are littered with the corpses of horror movies that forgot this rule and let the monster lose. It doesn’t work. That’s now how the story is structured.
Monster in the House is the phrase screenwriter Blake Synder gave to stories like THE MEG, JAWS, ALIEN and FATAL ATTRACTION.
The setup: There’s a monster in an enclosed place and either you kill it or it kills you.
Nothing could be more simple or powerful. This story hits us right in the caveman feels.
And it’s a story that’ll always work.
2) Jason Statham sells tickets
There are actors like Gary Oldman who can disappear into their roles.
Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson never disappear. Neither does Chris Pratt, whether he’s saving the galaxy or saving dinosaurs.
You could send a film crew to follow Statham, Johnson or Pratt around as they did their grocery shopping at Safeway and it would still be entertaining.
Statham has a particular brand of charm and is especially believable when he does action scenes. You don’t think there’s a stunt double or CGI making it happen.
That’s box office gold.
3) Movies like THE MEG help us conquer our fears
Horror movies tell us no, humans don’t win and don’t deserve to win. The monster kills everybody, punishing society for their sins, and there’s nothing you can do about it. The message of horror movies is, “Don’t commit whatever sin we’re highlighting in this story.”
Movies like THE MEG give us the opposite message: Even if there’s a seemingly unstoppable monster out there, that doesn’t mean we have to give in to fear.
We can beat that monster–or any other monster–if we’re brave and clever and work together.
The Red Pen of Doom 