KICK A #!% MOVIE ALERT!- THE MONSTER

THE MONSTER
A24
2016 Color
91 Mins.
Horror/Thriller
Zoe Kazan, Ella Ballentine and Scott Speedman star.
Written and Directed by Bryan Bertino
Rated R for language, violence and gore.

This movie is powerful. I was a huge fan of  Bryan Bertino's The Strangers. I found his execution inspired. His slow burn technique produced some of the most horrific moments in genre history. And than a few years later he reemerged with Mockingbird. A huge piece of cinematic dreck. But he has redeemed himself with his brilliant new film. A hopeful representation of what's to come from this very talented film maker. Now I may be overhyping it a little. Although I was really impressed with the trailer I had modified expectations going in even though there was lots of solid buzz (the film currently sits at 80% positive on rotten tomatoes) and I was overly impressed.

The film centers on a troubled young mother and her daughter and their toxic relationship. In real time she is driving the young girl to her fathers where she will live because the mother struggles with alcoholism amongst many other immature traits. Along the elongated trip due to constant cigarette breaks so the mother can stretch out the proceedings. There is a big storm and they end up seemingly crashing into a wolf. But upon further inspection they discover it looks to have been mauled by some kind of wild animal. They of course call for help which is unsuccessful when the man is brutally attacked by a large unidentifiable creature. Terrified they are stuck in the car and need to find a way to get help so they can survive.

Although the film is suspenseful, it's not too scary. When the creature finally comes into view it leaves something to be desired. What makes the film work so well is the drama surprisingly enough. And there is some really strong stuff here. With each flashback of their painful relationship the proceedings become more and more immersive as you care about these very well drawn characters.

The movie is darkly lit throughout and Bertino smartly keeps the creature in it for most of the films run time. As the film progresses towards it's aggressive and heartfelt finale the scares, suspense and emotion are amped up leaving viewers stunned with a new insight on how the movie works on many levels. The performances from Zoe Kazan and Ella Ballantine as the mother and daughter are award worthy. There are some scenes that are so hard to watch and it's just unbelievable that they would exist in a genre film. The film's cinematography is appropriately dark but has some truly inspired touches throughout such as the gorgeous bathroom scene and that last shot. The screenplay and direction from Bertino are brilliant even though the horror aspect doesn't work as well as the dramatic side of things. Still make no mistake this is a horror film and you should expect nothing less. In the end The Monster is a film that really deserved a wide, theatrical release. It's a solid, unique horror experience that deserves to be widely seen and all the people associated with it deserve the attention and acclaim they would have gotten if it wasn't dumped to a direct TV, VOD release. So let's try and remedy that by getting the word out. ****.75/5