The Monster (2016) Review!!!

Synopsis – A mother and daughter must confront a terrifying monster when they break down on a deserted road.

My Take – Now days its hard to find an innovative scary film, like there are only so many premises that can be explored, so at some point the best way to tackle a film of the scary sort is to just take a premise that, in itself, may not be all that original, but fill it with substance and simply try to make the best film possible. That is exactly what director Bryan Bertino does here! When I first heard about this film, I wasn’t sure whether the monster was actually real. I mean, I thought maybe it was more of a metaphor. Or that maybe the entire purpose of the film was to find out if the monster existed. Of course, the more underlying themes of this film will show you that the actual monster isn’t the only monster in the story. We are told numerous stories, some still ignoring the lingering question we harbor deep within – are monsters real? Or just an allegory of our very existence? This idea is effectively used in films such as, ‘The Babadook’, ‘It Follows’, ‘The Witch’ and the recently released Iranian film ‘Under the Shadow’. Here, the real monster is neglection of a child. But wait, the film does have an actual monster too, with teeth, claws, and a pretty gnarly appetite for things of a fleshy persuasion. The film pivots on the first hints of the monster’s presence; unlike many modern horror films, made using top-down design where theme, metaphor, and meaning come before plot and story. I believe the problem with the modern horror is an over-reliance on metaphor. Metaphor is also good, and something genre is uniquely designed to enhance, but there’s a problem when the central horror exists solely to put forth an idea. What happened to a good old tangible threat? Honestly, this film was better than I expected it to be. It manages to take a very basic plot and turn it into something more engaging than you’d think. But the problem is for a horror film, it’s not very scary in a way we are used to.

The story follows Kathy (Zoe Kazan), an alcoholic and chain smoking mother of the young, but mature teenager Lizzy (Ella Ballentine). They have been moving around together since Kathy’s husband Roy (Scott Speedman) left them. Kathy obviously isn’t a good mom; she’s rude, irresponsible, and she has a drinking problem. This has lead to Kathy deciding Lizzy will most likely be better off living with her father. Well into their trip to meet up with Lizzy’s father Kathy hits a wolf that breaks down 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), requests for some time to get the car running again. Time passes and eventually they get out and look for the dead wolf that appears to have far more damage to its body than just the impact of the car. They discover something embedded in the corpse, and sure enough, it’s not long after when they realize there is something else in the woods, big and terrifying, and wanting to feed. And it’s coming. Director Bryan Bertino made a name for himself with his first feature film the home invasion horror flick ‘The Strangers’. It was a somewhat of realistic tense horror film that genuinely creeped me out. Here, he takes a very familiar concept and maximized its potential with expertly crafted tension, great performances and the right amount of payoff. This film is very much that same philosophy, but applied to an “oh no there is something in the woods” monster film. The thing that really makes the film work is not the horrifying main plot of the film, but really it is the very complicated relationship between Lizzy and Kathy that is kind of brilliantly explored as an intercut storyline to go along with the main attraction; a terrifying beast that is pretty much the sum total of everything humanity fears might be lurking in the unknown darkness. It’s rare to see a horror hero as flawed as this one, and the fractured dynamic between Kathy and Lizzy gives the film an added texture. This isn’t the well-worn story of a reluctant parent finally stepping into their role as protector. No, it’s the story of a doomed relationship crawling towards one final bit of common ground in a hopeless situation. The relationship between Kathy and Lizzie is a fractured one, presented from its start as combative. As the story progresses, we learn in a series of dark flashbacks that Kathy is struggling with alcohol and depression and this is the source of what pulls Lizzie close but more so what repels her with incendiary toxicity. They have ferocious arguments, and we see a moment where Lizzie holds power to commit something terrible but doesn’t. But we also see is that she also loves her mother, coming to her side at another desperate time in a troubling, vulnerable moment.

But it isn’t just her mother that has damaged Lizzie so. Her father, while living at home is also reckless, he and Kathy a corrosive, abusive pair who have made home for their daughter a dungeon of fear and anger, most especially as she works to try and stop their behavior. Director Bertino subtlety makes it clear that the title of his film is not necessarily what we think, and that to understand why this mother and daughter are as trapped as they have become has nothing to do with car trouble. Here, the redemption journey is actually about how you grow with challenges. When the deadly monster comes along – on a largely deserted road through a forest, of course – you’ll find out that you have two choices: Fight or Die. This one is leaps and bounds in comparison as a more hopeful and humane film than Bertino’s previous one, which is saying something for a film as sickly as this one. Bertino’s approach certainly suits the material, but it fails to produce repressed emotions. The film probably could have done with one less moment of retrospection just to keep its message from smacking the audience square on the nose, but it’s never over-obvious; rather, it’s just obvious enough without being condescending. The domestic horrors of Lizzy’s upbringing are emphasized in reasonable boundaries, a blessing in light of the film’s short duration of 91 minutes. Also, Once characters start getting picked off, they perish in ways that lack excitement or ingenuity. And the final confrontation is especially disappointing, as unimaginative as it is lacking in suspense. Some may find it to be a little slow depending on what they are looking for, it’s definitely not your usual fast paced gore fest type monster flick, but it is an extremely engaging dramatic horror flick that some people might really love. The monster isn’t some annoying CGI trick that you’ll be watching and find decisively un-scary. Though, for the record, I’ll gladly admit I’ve seen some amazing CGI recently (most notably in The Shallows). Instead, it’s good old special effects with a costume and an actor who can crawl around in the style of Andy Serkis (Planet of the Apes reboot, Lord of the Rings, King Kong, etc.). The film is very character driven and the small assortment of actors really do a great job of capturing that. Ella Ballentine, who plays Lizzie, does an outstanding job of playing a little girl who is desperate and angry for her mother to get her life together. She actually out acted her adult counterpart in the majority of the scenes. Zoe Kazan does a fine job of playing Lizzie’s mother. As Kathy she tries to maintain her sobriety while navigating and understanding the needs of her daughter. Yes! This is becoming an overused device in horror films, but remains effective still none the less. Scott Speedman appears very briefly. Aaron Douglas is alright. On the whole, ‘The Monster’ is a somber, atmospheric, slow paced, tense and melancholic low-budget horror film with some great performances from Zoe Kazan & Ella Ballentine.