Monolith effectively tells a gripping story not by relying on flashy visuals or a star studded cast. The film instead relies heavily on anecdotal storytelling and a compelling surrealistic mystery that’s a pleasure to watch unravel. 

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The movie stars Lily Sullivan who is credited on IMDb as ‘The interviewer.’ Recently ousted from a journalist position at a popular news outlet, she finds solitude and hope of redemption through a new podcast investigating unsolved mysteries. Her world quickly turns upside down as multiple people, all around the world, contact her about a mysterious brick they all received, harboring some unknown power and influence over the bricks’ owners.

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Monolith is small scale, minimalist, low budget filmmaking, but it uses these elements to its advantage in its storytelling. Most of the story is told through audio of people not seen on screen, as they describe in great detail their personal experiences revolving around the arrival of a mysterious brick. The audio stories, fittingly told on a podcast, are well written in the script and envelop the listener in each callers’ unique perspectives and personal accounts of the eerie effect their unique bricks had on their lives. 

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The movie does a good job of building suspense around its center stage mystery and Lily Sullivan carries the emotional weight of her character’s experiences well. If you’re looking for a low-key sci-fi mystery reminiscent of an M. Night Shyamalan tale (sans clunky unnatural dialogue) or a cutting room floor Black Mirror episode, look no further than Monolith.