The Monster

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...

Brian Betinos 2008 flick 'The Strangers' was as simple as a film can get, and was well seasoned with some simple character backstory that added to the sense of tragedy and added to the tension of the film. In this film the heavy handed addiction sublot diffuses the tension of the film, and makes it difficult to empathise with the relationship at the core of the film. Its well shot, well acted but I felt myself getting detached from the action early on.

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.

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 ...