A Monster calls review - emotional and visual spectacle

A troubled young boy meets an ancient creature with three stories to tell…

A Monster Calls was born as an idea in the mind of writer Siobhan Dowd, who sadly passed away before committing more than an outline to paper. Patrick Ness took up the thread and conjured up a magical novel with some important help from artist Jim Kay.

Five years on, the book has been adapted for cinema, with a screenplay by Ness and direction by Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona (The Orphanage, The Impossible). And it’s quite the triumph.