Writer-director Bryan Bertino's The Monster will win no prizes for its visual effects (the titular creature looks like a guy in a rubber suit), but his modestly budgeted film is more interested in using the genre to explore human issues rather than simply generate shocks. The truly monstrous entity here is the fraught relationship between an alcoholic, divorced mother (Zoe Kazan) and her unhappy, rebellious adolescent daughter (Ella Ballentine), who together must face a threatening beast after their car hits a wolf during a late-night drive through a remote forest. Although a tow truck and ambulance eventually arrive on the scene—with the drivers and paramedics also finding themselves in a struggle for survival—the focus is on the mother and daughter, who have to set aside their mutual hostilities and find their way back to happier times that are recalled in occasional flashbacks. Although the script never offers any explanation regarding the monster, and the ultimate payoff is underwhelming, Bertino invests the central relationship with a strong sense of reality while building nerve-wracking suspense as the beast's attacks increase in ferocity. A strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)
The Monster
Lionsgate</span></span><span style='mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt'>, 91 min., R, DVD: $19.98, Blu-ray: $24.99, Jan. 24 Volume 32, Issue 2
The Monster
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