Monster

It is a little difficult to know where to start with this review. There are seven episodes in total of this Norwegian-noir. By the end I think I had just about managed to work out who had killed whom and why, but in the process I had also slightly lost the will to live!

As other reviewers have already observed, seven episodes is far too many for this drama. There probably was potential for a decent thriller here but, sadly, this was sabotaged by a convoluted storyline including the now well worn trope of strange religious and ritual practices, plus some very odd directing choices.

There are a few positives. Despite mixed performances, the actress who plays Hedda is very good, and snowy Norwegian landscapes are always beautiful to look at. I must also commend two actors for their sheer bravery in filming a post-sauna scene outside (not what you might be thinking!).

One final thought. I am still trying to comprehend why two of the younger characters leave with each other right at the end, as friends, to begin a new future for themselves after one essentially tortured the other in an earlier episode. All very strange - much like the entire series of Monster.

I love Nordic Noir and this is a fairly watchable entry into that canon. Unfortunately, the implausible plot, wooden dialogue and plotlines that are too confusing to hold this snowy saga tightly together, prevent me from awarding it any more than 6 out of 10. The problem is it's trying too hard to be weird and quirky to really engage on any plausible level. The two lead detectives are weird and quirky, the locals are just weird and the plot is lifted from about a dozen better films and tv shows. Mysterious blonde teenage girl is murdered in a ritualistic manner in small Hicksville town and said murder is investigated by inadequate local cops and fish out of water city cops. The city cops both dislike each other and then through mutual blackmail work together to solve a current slew of murders which may be linked to murders 30 years previously. The cinematography is great and the scenery breathtaking but a handful of good action set pieces, including a machine gun shootout at a drugs factory, cannot save this chilly potboiler. On a positive note, the acting is pretty good but the dialogue is very stilted and strange which adds to the off kilter feel of the show. None of the characters are very likeable and seem to have no issues with breaking or twisting the law to their own ends - and that's just the cops! I did like the portrayal of Hedda, a very unglamorous female cop who at least had some dimension to her character. Could have been so much better, the potential was there!

Whilst I agree with most of the negative reviews and the mind numbing stupidity of the script , I also agree that a very good cast made the best of it and I actually ended up enjoying it . No idea WHY but I did.

Monster seems to fall under a sub-genre of Scandinavian noir that I've run into far too often: A crime drama set in rural Finland or Norway or Sweden that involves an ultra religious sect. Invariably, these shows have a large number of unlikable, damaged characters doing unlikable things. As a result, it becomes almost impossible to identify with or root for most of the characters. In Monster, even the detectives are hard to root for, with all their flawed and destructive behavior.

I quickly realized that I was getting little enjoyment out of watching the series. Yet, I somehow felt an obligation to see it through to the end. It was like a bad medicine that I had to take in the hopes of finally getting a payoff at the end. When I finished the final episode, I felt like I had run a marathon. I did in fact like the ending, but the journey there it was so filled with bleak and cynical characters that it was a joyless ride.

I watched the series on the PBS Masterpiece platform. Another strange thing about it was that the episode previews that would appear as you start each new episode were often inaccurate in their descriptions of the episode. Strange. While Monster wasn't terrible, I gave it a 6 and would not recommend.

So 'Monster' First of all: This is 'Nordic-horror' We are at 'the Bridge' with Sara, and Saga and humans mutilated for ..fun. Yes, the recipe for 'Nordic-horror' is definitively in the game. But can 'we' cope with more brutal deaths in desolated bare landscapes? From viewing 1. episode, i would say; Jajamensam (yes-we-can:) It has its slow parts.. Not quite as slow as the Islandic horror series 'En Mörder ibandt os' -where we 'famously' not only had to watch the police man brush his teeth, but also watch how he floss each and every one.. -Buuuut we are about there in some scenes.. The environment is more gloomy than even David Lynch, but HE is definitely also *there*. Be a ware of that- some times fat Russian singing women appears for NO reason what-so-ever..! I BET you, if you asked the instructor, he would admit a homice to David Lynch :P So strange things intervene with the plot, and that can be annoying as .... You really need to bolt your concentration-cap securely to the head, and sort the inputs in two buckets: A) That is ..weirdness B) That is important for the plot I kind of wish someone had done that before the release.. But mind you, then it could have been one episode shorter, and slap me behind, if writers aren't paid pr. episode.. Why watch it? Because of the suspense, the oddness of how Scandinavian's does their killings(!) and the landscapes. So far the characters has not convinced me enough. I would say episode 1 is a minor 7 So 6+