The Monster (2016)
A mother and her 10-year old daughter are trapped in a forest. There is something in this forest. Something unlike anything they have heard before. Something that lurks in the darkness and it’s coming after them.
Watch Trailer
Cast
Similar titles
Reviews
The Monster: A mother & her 14 year old daughter hit a wolf while driving on a lonely road. The wolf however has other strange wounds. A tow-truck arrives but the driver disappears. Minutes later his severed arm hits the windscreen. Guess hes not a handyman anymore. The film then develops into a cat & mouse struggle between the family and the monster who they see devouring the breakdown guy.Good Horror drama with a well imagined monster dragging people through windscreens and turning over vehicles. Looked like a bear-reptile hybrid. Running time 91m. 6.5/10.
7/10 A decent little movie set in one location with strong performances. Great cinematography and small-scale conflicts make it very personal for the audience. The monster itself is scarier in a metaphorical context rather than a physical one. The tension is sometimes interrupted by flashbacks, which are heartwarming. If you enjoy movies with deeper meanings and themes, you'll probably enjoy this one.
6 1/2Two distinct souls coexist in the same movie : we have the complicated relationship background between mother and daughter, which is very touching and wisely built, and the horror/slasher counterpart, that is definitely less thought out, rougher and conventional. All in all, they tend to mash up pretty well, converging in the end in a cathartic epilogue, but there's some flaws along the way that kinda lower the level.
I respect where Bryan Bertino was trying to go with this film, but he falls short. While he does gets a decent start on character development that mostly works despite some overwrought writing and acting, the static set piece and drawn out end battle bleed away any real tension. Flashbacks are overused and ultimately come too late and the well shot and creepy final locations overstay their welcome. Few films are able to pull off this Babadook-esque having your cake and eating it too morality monster mash, and despite a good college try, the Monster fails along with all the others.