Before he sets off for Jurassic World to direct the two upcoming sequels, director J.A. Bayona has been discussing his latest film A Monster Calls, which has been getting universally positive reviews.

We had the pleasure of chatting with the fabulous director about the film, finding child star Lewis McDougall, casting Liam Neeson as the titular monster and balancing the realism and heart of the story alongside the extensive CGI.

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If you missed it you can see our interview with Liam Neeson (The Monsters) and Lewis MacDougall (Conor) in this handy link.

We’ve been looking forward to this movie being released ever since we saw it back at Toronto Film Festival in September. The movie is a wonderful tale about a child in the process of losing his mother to cancer and how he copes with that horrible journey. MacDougall puts in a wonderful performance alongside a quality list of acting talent including Star Wars Rogue One’s Felicity Jones, Sigourney Weaver (who plays a very English grandmother to Conor) and Dead Man’s Shoes’ Toby Kebbell all of whom are faultless in their performances.

If you missed it, click this way for our 5* review of the movie which we highly recommend you go and see.

A Monster Calls opens in the UK on January 1st, 2017.

A Monster Calls Synopsis

12-year-old Conor, dealing with his mother’s illness, a less-than-sympathetic grandmother, and bullying classmates, finds a most unlikely ally when a Monster appears at his bedroom window. Ancient, wild, and relentless, the Monster guides Conor on a journey of courage, faith, and truth.