Colossal Synopsis

Colossal centers on Gloria (Anne Hathaway), whose life has pretty much fallen into complete and utter disarray. Her boyfriend has left her, she has no money, and she has been getting blackout drunk. One day she wakes up from a bender to find that a giant monster has emerged and is running loose somewhere in the world. This world-changing event is made even stranger when she realizes that the monster mirrors her every move, and that she actually is in complete control of the giant beast. What follows is a journey to get her life back in order and tame the creature before it hurts anyone else who happens to be in its path.

Anne Hathaway is clearly the star of the show here, but it is worth mentioning that Colossal has definitely enlisted some stellar acting talent. In addition to Ms. Hathaway, Colossal also stars Jason Sudeikis, Dan Stevens, Austin Stowell, and Tim Blake Nelson.

Of course, in a grander sense, it's fairly obvious that the giant monster in this movie has a more metaphorical significance. It appears in Anne Hathaway's character's life during a tumultuous period where nothing seems to be going her way, and her mastery of the monster will likely lead to her vanquishing it once she manages to overcome her personal obstacles and personal demons. In a certain sense, this actually feels somewhat reminiscent of the recent Australian-Canadian horror classic The Babadook -- which similarly framed the central monster of the film as the embodiment of the heroine's grief, anxiety, and psychological struggle.

Granted, Colossal looks like it is not going to embrace many pure horror elements of the creature. There are plot details that remind us of The Babadook, but this is a far more lighthearted movie at its core.