According to Stacey L. Hahn, in the plot motif of the knight errant and the royal maiden, “the maidens initiate the adventures, and the knights must undergo a series of tests to attain them.”1 Gareth Edward’s Monsters (2010) is a modern take on this plot motif. Andrew (Scoot McNairy) is the knight errant, while Sam (Whitney Able) is the royal maiden.
Andrew is a knight in search of adventure. However, instead of slaying dragons, he photographs alien monsters. He reluctantly agrees to another adventure: escorting Sam, his boss’s daughter, from Mexico to the United States. Sam has fled to San Jose to reconsider her wedding engagement. She is with the wrong man, but Andrew will prove that he is the right man for her.
Sam is like a royal maiden because she is the daughter of a rich man and doesn’t have to work. Her injury from an alien attack initiates the adventure that she will share with Andrew. Sam also plays the role of a damsel in distress.
As a knight, Andrew must undergo a series of tests to win the heart of the maiden. At first, he is an incompetent knight, losing their passports, but Sam finds a solution, selling her engagement ring. Although Andrew fails his first test, he is given another chance to prove himself. When the armed guards are killed by one of the monsters, he must guide Sam to safety without any weapons to protect them.
The journey changes Andrew: from a selfish photographer to a selfless knight. He is gallant and kind, e.g., replacing Sam’s bandages, kissing her hand, and standing guard while she sleeps. Sam looks to her knight for guidance, asking him, “Are you sure about this?” and follows his lead when he tells her, “Let’s get back on the boat.” When an alien kills the guards, Sam cries in terror, but Andrew holds her and comforts her. Sam is attracted to Andrew because he is chivalrous like a knight.
The romance between Andrew and Sam is like a medieval romance. As a damsel in distress, Sam needs a knight to protect her. Emotionally fragile and uncertain, she is attracted to Andrew because he is her opposite: emotionally stable and decisive. In the final scene, when their adventure is over, the royal maiden rewards her knight with a kiss.
Notes
- Stacey L. Hahn, “The Motif of the Errant Knight and the Royal Maiden in the Prose ‘Lancelot’,” Arthurian Interpretations 3, no. 1 (Fall 1988): 11, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27868646
Christopher Lindsay 
Nicely-done (as always), Chris! –Paul
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