The Strangers director Bryan Bertino is back with another a horrific tale, this one about addiction, motherhood and a mother-fuckin’ monster. Yes, The Monster (formerly There Are Monsters) is set for release this October through A24, and it most definitely delivers on its title.
Bertino, who last took on the found-footage subgenre with the criminally underrated Mockingbird, has returned to his stylized roots with The Monster, delivering a glossy and beautifully shot creature feature about a volatile relation between a mother and her daughter.
Zoe Kazan plays a divorced mother, addicted to pain killers, who is awful to her daughter (Ella Ballentine). On a road trip to see her father, they crash into something, leaving them stranded in the middle of the woods. The film becomes self-contained on this stretch of road as the two of them find themselves surrounded by a monster who is picking off anyone who crosses the path.
While I find Bertino’s craft excellent, I’ve never been a huge fan of The Strangers; I find his work to be overtly dense and lacking any sort of joy. The same goes for The Monster, which walks a fine line between dramatic and mean-spirited (there’s a scene where the mother and daughter scream “I hate you” back and forth for what feels like an eternity, although it is at least trying to give weight to the characters plight, which I can’t help but respect). But if you enjoy feeling cold and upset while watching a film, The Monster definitely taps into those old-school The Texas Chain Saw Massacre roots.
And speaking of the monster, fans of creature features of the 80s are going to cream themselves at the seemingly practical effects work that looks like it was a nightmare to shoot. To see a high caliber filmmaker take a stab at this impossible subgenre is exciting, even if it’s a bit clunky in the end. With that said, the monster is pretty cool, and vicious, leaving a bloodbath in its wake.
I feel pretty confident that fans of The Strangers are going to adore this dramatic gut-punch that’s either a work of art, or cheesy bliss (I can’t decide). For everyone else, there’s less reason to expose yourself to the bleak undercurrent of Bertino’s latest. If anything, I’d love for the review to inspire him to lighten up a bit and have a little fun because that’s the one ingredient missing from his films.
A24’s The Monster will be available exclusively on DIRECTV on October 6th, and will be in theaters and On Demand on November 11th.
