Wednesday, February 1, 2017

‘Blu-ray or Bust’ - THE MONSTER


‘Blu-ray or Bust’
THE MONSTER (2016, R, 91 minutes, ATLAS INDEPENDENT/A24)


Sometimes, certain films slip past you.  They either do not even show up on your peripheral or it could be something you hear about and then suddenly realize it was released in theatres a few months ago, and you totally missed it.

Not to fret—it is not your fault. Don’t schedule an appointment with your doctor to have your noodle examined, it’s okay. You are not developing a case of Whatthehells—as in, “Whatthehell just happened?!?” or “Whatthehell—how did I miss that?!?” or maybe even the, “Whatthe hell’s going on with my brain?!?”  And certainly not the dreaded, “Whatthehell—is that a freaking rash?!?”.


The blame lies entirely with the studio. They do this on occasion, and it is perhaps the absolute DUMBEST THING known to man. It happened with MOON, one of the best science fiction films of the last decade.  It happened with FILTH, a James McAvoy led smorgasbord of decidedly bad choices. It happens so often that you wonder why, if a studio doesn’t believe in a film enough to advertise it, did they release the dang thing in the first place?


THE MONSTER is yet another example of a lovely—if not harrowing—film that I do not even recall seeing a trailer for on IMDB. No, it is not the Greatest Horror Film EVER Made—although it does deserve a decent ranking. The story centers around young Lizzy (Ella Ballentine), whose alcoholic mother (Zoe Kazan) is driving to her estranged father’s house to live. While on a two lane, wooded road, there is an accident that leaves them stranded, and at the mercy of the titular beastie.

However, boys and ghouls, this ain’t your typical monster flick. What writer/director Bryan Bertino (THE STRANGERS) creates isn’t the standard Hollywood ‘eat-em-up’. The dynamic of the mother/daughter relationship is played out in flashbacks, and the most frightening and traumatic part of this film is the heartbreaking way in which these characters attempt to survive not just the monster, but each other. While Lizzie is clearly the one in control—you are given several examples of just how this girl is trying to raise her irresponsible mother—it is the struggle of Kazan’s “Kathy” that, as a parent, had me cringing and hanging to the edge of my seat. The performances by both actresses are far better than a film about a poorly constructed creature deserves, and is ultimately what lifts this far above your typical gore-fest. (Seriously, “The Monster” is kind of stupid looking—at one point, you could swear it was partially made out of a blanket, which normally distracts. But the acting nearly makes up for this.)


There is only one special feature to speak of, and it is your basic behind-the-scenes doc—about seven minutes long, although you do get some better glimpses of the odd-looking monster. For a movie that is more about characterization than it is about the actual beastie, I would expect more out of the special features.

It is a shame this film did not hit on all cylinders, and it is a particular shame that the studio could not figure out how to market it. While it may be an independent film, the intensity of the acting, not to mention the technical aspects of the film, is a subtle challenge to all other indie genre filmmakers to raise the bar a tad.


Film Grade: B+
Special Features: D
Blu-ray Necessary: Most definitely


-- T.S. Kummelman

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