Monster, The (2016)
Starring Zoe Kazan, Ella Ballentine, Scott Speedman, Aaron Douglas
Directed by Bryan Bertino
After the success of The Strangers in 2008, director Bryan Bertino was suddenly someone to watch in the world of horror. Instead of taking the path of least resistance with a sequel to the home invasion smash, Bertino took a hiatus and then returned to the director’s chair six long years later with the underseen found footage film Mockingbird. Bertino successfully returns to the limelight with The Monster, an intimate mother and daughter struggle that is suddenly and horrifically interrupted by a ravenous beast.
Caught up innocently in family turmoil, Lizzy (Ballentine) is just a kid forced into the middle of countless screaming matches between her young mother, Kathy (Kazan), and the abusive Roy (Speedman). The fight trickles down to Lizzy as well, telling her Mom that she hates her as Kathy loses control, yelling back obscenities in an early scene. All this hatred is forced to be put on hold, however, once they both find themselves stuck together when their car breaks down on a (you guessed it) remote road where a much larger threat looms.
With classics like Aliens, Tremors, Pumpkinhead and Death Becomes Her on their resume, the legendary duo of Tom Woodruff and Alec Gillis create a memorable creature design utilizing animatronics and old school man-in-suit techniques to bring life to the roadside attraction found in The Monster. Inspired by artwork he initially presented to the effects team, Bertino himself had a lot of input into the overall look that, in small part, resembles the jet black aliens in Attack the Block and Zuul the Gatekeeper of Gozer in the original Ghostbusters. To be sure, the creature appearing here still feels original and incredibly lifelike, giving the moments where it appears on screen a tangible sense of ferocity and danger.
Never revealing the origin, Bertino wants the audience to create their own backstory for the monster; the only backstory that matters is the family history of its victims because it dictates how they deal with the terror in front of them. Knowing their internal conflict fleshes these characters out more and increases the investment felt in their survival. Trapped in a desperate situation, the old dynamic between Lizzy and Kathy can’t help but rear its ugly head, leading to some decisions that make things even worse once the creature makes itself known. Both actresses deliver time and time again in claustrophobic, emotional scenes; but it is really Ballentine’s vulnerability and eventual resilience that are the real heart of The Monster. Although her circumstance in the home and, now, her life-threatening test against a fantastic beast force her to grow up too fast, Lizzy undergoes a metamorphosis from babe in the woods to consummate survivor in record time.
Through that transformation, The Monster, while also being a fun and bloody time for horror fans, is really about how everyday struggles can surprisingly make you prepared for even the most extraordinary encounter. With that in mind, this is a feel-good family film that just happens to have a bloodcurdling monster in it. As a warning, it’s wonderfully violent so you might not want to take your actual family to a Sunday matinee.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
