A24 has a knack for distributing films where the real monsters stalking you are just physical stand-ins for whatever trauma you’re hauling around, and 2016’s The Monster is one of those movies that makes you wish it didn’t have to be that complicated. Yes, there’s a demonic beast barreling through the woods, but wouldn’t it be great if the beast were just a literal creature and not some metaphor for a strained mother and daughter relationship unraveling in real time?
Maybe I’m being cynical, but sometimes I just want to see a couple of likeable people thrown into an extraordinary situation and forced to figure out how to survive. The Monster just makes me want to cheer for the antagonist because the mother depicted by Zoe Kazan is so objectively terrible, which is a testament to her brilliant acting if I’m being entirely honest here.
Maybe The Monster Is The Trauma Bond We Forged Along The Way
The Monster tells a painfully simple story about alcoholic mother Kathy (Zoe Kazan) and her daughter Lizzy (Ella Ballentine). Driving down rural roads to drop Lizzy off at her father’s house for their shared custody arrangement, Kathy radiates zero redeeming qualities. Flashbacks confirm she’s been a horrible mother for years, and her present-day behavior doesn’t exactly soften that impression.
After Kathy hits a wolf while driving at night, the car takes enough damage to require roadside assistance, leaving the two of them to sit in tense silence and simmering resentment while the rain pounds down for atmospheric effect. Each new reveal about their relationship just makes you feel worse for Lizzy, who’s a kid doing everything she can to maintain emotional equilibrium in a home where her mother barely pretends to care about her.
the monster
As the title promises, there is a literal monster lurking in the woods, and it actually looks pretty cool, like a Xenomorph and a wolf had a very gnarly child. Credit where it’s due. As Kathy and Lizzy repeatedly face death, I wish the film didn’t keep cutting back to the bleak flashbacks because they’re so depressing and do nothing to help Kathy’s case. She’s not the type of drunk who feels physically dependent, just the kind who peaked in high school and decided to take it out on her offspring. Lizzy, meanwhile, is an innocent victim working through a terrifying situation with the kind of emotional maturity kids develop when their parents provide no safety net. She’s able to see her mother as vaguely human while the very real monster prowls outside their car.
Skip The Symbolism Next Time
the monster
I completely understand what The Monster is aiming for, but I would have preferred a version that leaned more literal. The creature effects are genuinely impressive, even if the movie falls into the modern filmmaking trap of hiding those effects under so much darkness it makes entire stretches nearly unwatchable. Kathy’s introduction sets her up as patently unlikeable, and since she’s supposed to be one of the troubled protagonists, that doesn’t exactly work in the film’s favor.
A redemption arc could have salvaged her character, but she feels too far gone to be someone the audience would reasonably root for. If her survival guarantees Lizzy’s survival, great, but you’re going to wade through a lot of emotional baggage to get there. That’s fine if you’re into that sort of thing, but I found myself wishing the movie trusted its own monster more than its metaphors.
the monster
The Monster is streaming on Max.
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