How far would you go for love? Would you do something truly monstrous?

Director Netto Villalobos Brenes delivers a female-driven narrative (men only show up a couple of times throughout the film, and each time makes an impression) that lands the viewer in a not-so-distant, dystopian-leaning future.

The men are gone. They left two years ago… the whys and wheres are never explained. There’s something wrong with the air; there are perimeters, and there is wealth, and there is poverty, with nothing in between.

Paulina Garcia plays a Grandmother who simply wants to spend time with her granddaughter. But with increasing restrictions, dangers to her health, and clashes with her wealthy daughter, trouble sets in and causes some stress.

After some attempts to smooth things over and regain some trust, it is all destroyed when tragedy strikes, and Grandmother must find a way to make it all right. Even if everything she does is wrong.

We never quite know what happened in the world; we just see the results, and it’s troubling. That adds tension to everything that happens.

Garcia is absolutely riveting, and you can see that Grandmother loves the little girl, wants to do right by her, spoil her, be in her life, even as she realizes her own time may be running out quicker than she thought.

As the film progresses and we begin to find our footing in this world, it all gets uprooted when tragedy hits, and we see how far Grandmother is willing to go for the one she loves. It’s terrifying and monstrous, hence the film’s title.

I love everything happening in the background of the story. The children’s song that warns about polluted air and purple clouds, the sterilization of cars coming from past the Perimeter. The nannies all dressed identically and carrying firearms. The warning cards posted on walls, the missing children pictures, the economic extremes… it all layers in to create a world not very far off from our own, which serves to amplify the dangers Grandmother finds herself in.

An engaging watch; the film captivates and horrifies, and you eat up every second of Garcia’s performance. She’s amazing.

Love is the Monster screens Monday afternoon at Scotiabank, Tuesday night at Scotiabank, and Saturday morning at Scotiabank.