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The Monster
2016 91 min Canada, United States of America R 18+
★6.1
Horror, Drama
Director: Bryan Bertino
Trailers
Description
A mother and her 10-year old daughter are trapped in a forest. There is something in this forest. Something unlike anything they have heard before. Something that lurks in the darkness and it’s coming after them.
Budget:
$2.7M
US Gross:
$12,544
Worldwide:
$74,000
Starring
Zoe Kazan
Actor
Ella Ballentine
Actor
Aaron Douglas
Actor
Awards
6 nominations total
Key opinion
The Monster is a polarizing low-budget horror film that functions primarily as a character-driven drama about a dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship. While the heavy, rain-soaked atmosphere and symbolic premise are widely praised, the film is frequently criticized for its inconsistent creature design and illogical character choices.
| Cinematography | The persistent, rain-drenched forest setting and moody lighting effectively build a claustrophobic, somber atmosphere. | |
| Theme | The film successfully elevates its premise by interweaving traditional creature-feature tropes with the metaphorical, real-world trauma of a broken mother-daughter relationship. | |
| Production | The monster's physical execution is often seen as a distraction, ranging from effectively terrifying in shadows to comically unconvincing when fully revealed. | |
| Pacing | The narrative balance is debated; some find the focus on emotional flashbacks adds depth, while others feel the pacing drags and the emotional payoff remains hollow. | |
| Screenplay | The characters frequently act with a lack of logic that undermines the tension and diminishes the credibility of the survival scenario. |