Monsters of California – Review
Aliens, shadowy feds, teenage slackers, and Bigfoot urine. Yep, Tom DeLonge made a movie.
If you’re after teen conspiracy hunters with skateboards, UFO secrets and missing dads, government agents in sunglasses who’ve clearly been dying to say “You’re not supposed to see this” then buckle up. This is the ride for you.
Let’s be clear: Monsters of California isn’t here to make you believe. It’s here to throw every X-Files-meets-Jackass fever dream well known believer Tom DeLonge has ever had into 110 minutes of glowing orbs, dad issues, dick punches and fart jokes. It’s like Stranger Things if the cast spent more time quoting Joe Rogan and less time fighting Demogorgons.
Jack Samson plays Dallas, a SoCal teen still grieving his dad’s disappearance, but mostly channeling that pain into conspiracy deep-dives with his band of misfit friends. After finding some very Macguffin files left behind by a government agent, the crew goes full Scooby Gang only instead of solving mysteries, they stumble into portals, UFO’s, and a surprisingly emotional arc involving astral projection and interdimensional travel.
Oh, and there’s Bigfoot.
Who pees on someone.
Because of course he does.
Let’s be real, this isn’t a script crafted in a Sundance lab. It’s a kitchen-sink UFO exposé disguised as a coming-of-age comedy, and the tone swings harder than a cryptid on caffeine. One minute we’re in heartfelt Spielberg territory, the next it’s Jackass: Area 51 Edition. It’s messy, but weirdly charming.
Samson gives a decent performance as Dallas. Wide-eyed, grieving, sarcastic and his friends (a stoner, a wisecracking skeptic, and a spiritual medium who may or may not own crystals) round out the Gen Z Ghostbusters vibe. They’ve got decent chemistry and their scenes work better than the sci-fi stuff most of the time.
Casper Van Dien pops up as a mysterious military figure who knows Too Much™, while Richard Kind plays a scientist who delivers all the exposition while looking permanently baffled to be in this film. They’re not subtle performances, but this movie isn’t exactly aiming for nuance.
Plot-wise, it’s… let’s say “enthusiastic.” There’s astral portals, shadowy ops, and enough talk of vibrations and frequencies to power a Tesla. You’ll have questions. Why is there a normal door in a cave? Why is the alien dimension lit like a rave in the desert? Why does Bigfoot have perfect aim? Don’t ask. Just vibe dude!
The film clearly wants to say something about truth, belief, grief, and letting go. Sometimes it almost gets there, before being sideswiped by a poop joke.
But credit where it’s due: Monsters of California looks way better than it has any right to. The cinematography is clean, the effects are decent for an indie, and the score has shades of DeLonge’s Blink-182 past, equal parts nostalgia and space noise.
So no, it’s not exactly Close Encounters or Donnie Darko. It’s more like Dude, Where’s My Spaceship? crossed with a History Channel doc your mate swears is legit. Stoner Goonies if you will. But if you go in expecting heartfelt absurdity and a whole lot of weirdness, it delivers.
Is it ridiculous? Absolutely. Is it fun? Surprisingly, yes. And if you’ve ever wondered what would happen if a pop-punk legend made a sci-fi teen movie based on his alien blog? Well… now you know.
Monsters of California is available to stream on digital from July 7, 2025 courtesy of Plaion Pictures
