Chemicals raining down from nuclear weapons sent into the sky cause mutated insects and reptiles to ravage the world in the post-apocalyptic Love And Monsters. Less of a traditional monster movie, Love and Monsters features equal parts heart and humor, to provide for some really great exchanges between the characters.
The main character, Joel, is played by former Teen Wolf star Dylan O’Brien. Joel has a lot of the same charm as Teen Wolf’s Stiles as a result, which means a lot of the best lines in the film are courtesy of him. He’s got a knack for sarcasm tinged with emotion, making for some great delivery of his lines. Though Joel does have most of the memorable lines, he’s not the only one with great quotes from Love And Monsters.
Updated on July 28th, 2021 by Amanda Bruce: With movie theaters closed for the bulk of 2020, a lot of new releases, like Love And Monsters, ended up on streaming services for rental, and a lot of potential audience members missed out. Love And Monsters is finding new life as it comes to streaming subscription services around the world, which means people can finally see just how funny – and how full of emotion – the movie really is.
12 “I Knew This One Kid Who Was Eaten By A Goldfish He Won At A Carnival.”
When Joel wants to hit home just how dire the situation is when it comes to mutated creatures in his early movie voiceover, this is the point he makes. It’s one thing to think of insects and frogs out in the wild mutating. It’s another when the beloved family goldfish is a threat.
This is how the world changes in Love And Monsters. It’s sudden, and the movie’s opening makes it clear that there wasn’t a whole lot of time for the world to adjust to the new normal.
11 “I’m Done Waiting For Things To Get Better. It’s Time To Take Matters Into My Own Hands.”
By the time the audience gets to Joel’s present-day situation, it’s clear that he’s not a man of action. He spends a lot of time waiting to see what will happen, relying on those around him. He realizes, however, that waiting is doing nothing for him.
This is one of the few quotes that apply to the real world just as much as the post-apocalyptic setting of Love And Monsters. Waiting games don’t do anyone any good.
10 “I Really Didn’t Have Your Typical Upbringing. I Mean, I Did At First, And Then The World Ended.”
In post-apocalyptic movies, it’s necessary for the audience to have an idea of just how much the world has changed. In the case of Love and Monsters, the characters are old enough, and the apocalypse recent enough, that most of them know what it’s like to live in a world without giant insects, amphibians, and more trying to eat you.
Joel’s fondest memories are of before the world changed, which is obvious enough, but his matter-of-fact tone in the opening line of the movie lets the audience know that his narration is going to be fun. He’s not really wistful or sad, just recognizes that this is the way the world is now.
9 “I Don’t Want To Die All Alone At The End Of The World.”
Love and Monsters features a lot of humor for a monster movie set during an apocalypse. It also, however, doesn’t shy away from the drama of living at the end of the world.
Joel lives in a bunker with a bunch of adults who are just a little bit older than him – adults who have all coupled up. Not only is he the kid they all helped save, but he’s also the odd man out. That makes for a very lonely experience for someone who literally said goodbye to their high school sweetheart as the world ended. Though Joel narrates with plenty of sarcasm and humor, there are quite a few lines in the movie that also get to his emotional state like this one.
8 “Welcome To The Apocalypse, Kid. The Food Sucks. At Least You’ll Never Know What You’re Missing.”
When Joel introduces the audience to his life at the start of the movie, he mentions that the first baby in his colony was born just the year before. Some apocalyptic stories, like The Walking Dead, see the birth of the next generation as a sign of hope. Joel uses it as a bit of humor.
Considering how important having a food source is during the apocalypse, it’s no surprise that Joel makes mention of how bad the food is. His colony, after all, is living off of whatever canned items they can still find on their “hunting” trips. This first mention of food in the movie even becomes a recurring theme.
7 “You Stole Food, Didn’t You?”
When Joel leaves his colony behind to meet up with Aimee, this is a question he gets asked by everyone he meets. It becomes a funny through-line in his adventures but also highlights a salient point.
Food is scarce after seven years of living in an apocalyptic setting. Though Joel doesn’t understand why people keep wondering if he stole from his colony, that’s because he’s honest and cares about the people he’s been living with. It’s clear by the time he gets to Aimee’s colony that’s not true of everyone, and it’s a lesson Joel and Aimee get almost too late.
6 “I’m Gonna Eat You Like Broccoli!”
This line doesn’t have any kind of deep meaning nor does it really speak to life in the apocalypse, but Ariana Greenblatt’s delivery of it is so fantastic that this is one of the Love And Monsters quotes that are simply unforgettable. When Minnow starts training Joel in using a crossbow, she yells all kinds of things at him to “imitate” a monster to get inside his head.
For some reason, this is one of the things she chooses, which begs the question, is broccoli one of Minnow’s favorite foods? Or is there a specific way she’s seen people eat broccoli that makes this an apt comparison? The audience may never know.
5 “I’ve Been Sensible All My Life. It’s Gotten Me Nowhere.”
Joel’s bunker mates try to convince him not to make the journey to see Aimee. It’s seven days across land infested with monsters, after all. When he meets Clyde and Minnow, they try to convince him to come north with him instead. Clyde urges Joel to “be sensible.”
Joel has always been the guy left behind in the bunker who makes meals and fixes the radio. He’s always kept out of danger, and it means he hasn’t been able to live his life. He decides to get a little reckless, and the audience loves him for it.
4 “Good Instincts Are Earned By Making Mistakes.”
Within the first 15 minutes, it’s clear that no one thinks Joel has good instincts, least of all, Joel himself. He freezes when faced with a mutated ant, unable to pull the trigger on his crossbow. When he leaves the bunker, he almost eats poison berries.
What Joel doesn’t realize is that no one is the perfect hero immediately. (It’s something he has in common with O’Brien’s Teen Wolf character Stiles.) Joel has to be willing to make mistakes and learn from them in order to figure out his way in the world. It’s Clyde who makes him realize that with the line, “Good instincts are learned by making mistakes,” giving him hope that he can adapt to the new world.
3 “Dear Aimee, It’s Not Looking Good. And By It, I Don’t Remember What I Was Talking About.”
Many of Joel’s voice-overs in the movie are built around letters he composes to his high school sweetheart. When Joel gets venom from some mutated leeches in his system, he continues his trek and tries to continue writing in his mind. It doesn’t work so well once the venom starts spreading and he starts hallucinating.
Said completely deadpan, this line encapsulates the humor of the movie very well. The world might be a dangerous place, but that doesn’t mean it’s devoid of funny moments.
2 “There’s No Mission More Admirable Than Love.”
Cap (’90s kids might recognize him as Power Rangers: RPM’s Dillon) might be a deplorable person by the time the audience actually gets to know him, but he does have a good point with this line.
Most people around Joel think he’s crazy for taking a journey through hostile territory with no track record for defending himself. Cap is the first person to think him trekking through monsters for a week is admirable, even if he’s just saying it to get on Joel’s good side.
1 “Don’t Settle. You Don’t Have To. Even At The End Of The World.”
Originally, this bit of wisdom comes from an eight-year-old. It’s Minnow who tells Joel in Love and Monsters, “don’t settle,” and it’s Clyde who finishes the sentiment. It sticks with Joel as he realizes that humanity – if they want to do more – shouldn’t have to be scared below ground for the rest of their lives.
The line makes it into Joel’s final recording in the movie as he imparts tidbits from his own journey across radio waves to help other people. Joel decides to get out of his bunker and experience more, and he’s not the only one.
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