The Monster

Kathy (Zoe Kazan) is the alcoholic and smoking addicted mother of the young, but mature teenager Lizzy (Ella Ballentine). They live together since Kathy's husband Roy (Scott Speedman) left her, and she neglects her daughter. Kathy is supposed to drive Lizzy to her father's home in the morning, but she sleeps until late afternoon and they have to travel during a rainy night. While driving through a lonely road through the woods, Kathy hits a wolf that breaks her car, leaving them stranded on the empty road. They call 911 and while waiting for the tow truck and an ambulance, the wolf disappears from the road. When the tow truck arrives, the mechanic Jesse (Aaron Douglas) tells that he needs to fix the axle and an oil leakage to tow her car. While repairing the vehicle, a monster attacks him but neither Kathy nor Lizzy note. When they seek Jesse out, they realize that they are not alone in the spot. Further, Kathy learns that monsters do exist. Will they be rescued on time?

"The Monster" is an atmospheric, tense and melancholic low-budget horror movie. The dramatic story is supported by top-notch performances of Ella Ballentine and Zoe Kazan and a beautiful and sad cinematography. Scott Speedman participation is limited to a short cameo only to give his name to the credits. The slow-paced plot helps to create the creepy atmosphere and to show the relationship of Kathy and Lizzy. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

They got stuck somewhere between the saint maud symbolic style and "screw it let's just make a monster movie" because I thought for a second they were going to play on the "addiction is a monster" thing but then where would a monster killing a tow truck driver fit in in that so I 86d trying to interpret it in that way and thought to myself "I'll just enjoy a monster movie" and that worked when all else failed so I gave it 6 stars... with that being said dumb decisions are never good... especially when in a life or death situation where you actually have a minute to think about what your going to do instead of just having to do it... but it executed edge of your seat nevertheless.... if you go into watching with more of a monster movie expectation then it's going to suck for you... enjoy yourself watch a horror movie and stop whining...

There are a lot of strong opinions on this film in its early reviews. I just want to give a practical commentary on what I see.

This is a great horror flick with some heavy symbolism. It is a story about a mother and daughter who are terrorized by a monster when their car gets stuck. A lot of dudes (or women haters) seem to hate it (check the low reviews and notice the colorful words they have for women). As a dude myself, I had no problem watching a film from a female perspective. I rather enjoyed it and found it touching at times.

The characters are both flawed. I related with the daughter at times because I grew up with a flawed father. I acted and reacted a lot of the ways the daughter in the film did too. So from my perspective, there was some heavy realism in the backstory. I found the "boring" moments to be touching.

The practical effects are superb in my opinion. Some will disagree though.

Some of the writing is flawed in regards to character choices. I think discourse could answer some of the choices, but my fellow horror film nerds seem to be either accepting or spiteful of cliché character fails in the genre. I could see past them though for quality story though.

So if you don't get angry being put in a woman's perspective and like horror films, this should be right your alley.

The relationship between the mother and her child is the number one priority here. So while this is a horror movie (mostly in the psychological area), it is also a Drama. And some of the best Horror movies (that are not Slashers or particularly explicitly violent) have been Dramas at heart too.

And while I get that the child may seem annoying to some and some decisions made feel rushed, the casting was good and the script was decent enough giving them all something to play with (no pun intended). The movie is very dark (both in tone and in visual flair) and while it does drift into expected (read cliché territory) and has somewhat of a downfall towards the end (and maybe for some a slow beginning), overall the positive things do win over ...

This film wasn't terrible. It manages to take a very basic "stuck in a car with a monster outside" plot and inject some character into it. But it was by no means great.

The acting was solid. There are some emotional scenes that elevated the film.

The director manages to create some tension and suspense with the atmospheric lighting, camera movements, and shot composition.

The effects on the monster ranged from pretty okay to sometimes looking slightly silly. It's a practical monster instead of CGI, which is appreciated, but it still looks rubber and fake in certain scenes.

The final act of the movie was pretty strong.

The story is very basic. Two people get stranded on a deserted road and a monster from the woods terrorizes them. The film tries to engage the viewer more by making the primary focus of the story about the strained relationship between the mother and daughter and how this terrifying experience brings them together. In some respects this works, but it's not enough to make the story anything more than average at best.

The dialogue was also very shoddy at points and felt unnatural and forced.

Overall, this is a pretty average horror movie. Nothing special or memorable but not bad. Don't expect anything great. Expect a flawed film with an unoriginal plot with some good aspects scattered throughout.

5/10.