Monolith review – impressive first contact sci-fi seeks the truth out there

Matt Vesely’s debut references 2001: A Space Odyssey and Arrival, but ably stakes its own territory as a compelling and fastidious piece of work

It takes some guts for any sci-fi film – especially a no-budget one – to pick that title, and to include some eerie wisps of Ligeti-like sounds to get the cosmic hairs rising on the back of your neck. When Monolith isn’t referencing 2001: A Space Odyssey, it also bears some resemblance to Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival, with its alien artefacts turning out to be filled with indecipherable glyphs when scanned. But Matt Vesely’s impressive debut ably stakes out its own territory, not least in the vast distances covered by a single on-screen actor and a handful of vocal performances.

After being fired for not doing due diligence on her journalism, the Interviewer (Lily Sullivan) is now slumming it for Beyond Believable, a paranormal podcast. On the hunt for a non-laughable story, an email lands in her inbox directing her to someone called Floramae King regarding “The Brick”. With some prodding, this former housekeeper (the voice of Ling Cooper Tang) tells her story to the Interviewer; in the wake of a traumatic incident in the family she worked for, she received a mysterious black stone with a potent aura. Following up with the art dealer (the voice of Terence Crawford) to whom the brick was sold, the Interviewer learns – as her podcast starts to rack up hits – that there are dozens of these artefacts worldwide, all mysteriously materialising in the lives of their keepers and inducing disturbing visions.