Vicky Jonas A promising premise that didn't deliver. From a technical pov, I believe the movie was really well shot and directed, with some nice cinematography. The cinematography enhanced the setting of the terrifying woods creating a tense atmosphere. The use of light and darkness for suspense was quite clever and I founf myself holding my breath in specific scenes. Unfortunately when it comes to the plot, the movie feels quite flat, unoriginal and repetitive. While the initial setting was promising, and I certainly appreciate the effort to make the characters tridimensional and highlight their emotional bond. The acting is pretty good, Zoe Kazan and Ella Ballentine certainly have chemistry on screen, which made their mother-daugther relationship very real. However, the movie falls apart on its way to the third act. I don't feel like the movie exploited the symbolism as much as it could, so much wasted potential, it did end up falling in a lot of horror clichés.Would I recommend it? I don't know, if you're looking for a good family drama-horror mix, with all its problems The Babdook is far more satisfying in most aspects.

ninjanorm This movie had a lot of potential going in, very classic monster movie feel. The relationship between the mother and daughter has great character dynamic as well. However, everything is basically thrown away in the last act. It's a shame that a lot of talented people did so much apparent hard work to make this movie of good quality, only to have it all trashed by terrible writing in the last act. The movie would have been better had they ended it when the ambulance went off the road. That wouldn't be a great ending but it would be better than the trash they tacked on at the end. The whole monster doesn't like light thing is clamy and not consistent in the movie. The Mom suicide/sacrifice is unmotivated. The girl stopping the monster in midair with an aresol can, is just bad all the way around. The monster can stop a moving ambulance, but aerosol yielded by a little girl is too much for it. Then is the monster made of purely flameable material, because it went up like a bonfire with just a kiss of flame? Really? All this throwing away of a good movie for some half baked, backwards message that little girls are empowered to fight the monsters on their own.

LastLeviathan This movie was really disappointing for me.While I did enjoy the first few flashbacks and the general story for about half the film, towards the end it just got annoying and ridiculous.Am I really supposed to believe that the girl who was whiny and cowering for the whole movie suddenly grows into some Mary Sue (TM) hero by the end? And killing the monster with fire in the way it happened is just ridiculously unrealistic, even for a movie like this.It's a shame. There are some things this movie gets right, I particularly liked the acting on the mothers part, even if some of the dialogue was shoddy. The monster design in general was good too and I always appreciate practical effects over CGI.The character of the daughter angered me more and more as the film went on with all her whining and annoying questions, though that is more the fault of the script than the actress, she's actually pretty decent.All in all, very disappointing.

Mark Turner Far too often these days we are given a horror film that promises to scare us while delivering very few scares. Sure a well-made movie that doesn't depend on displaying anything on screen can be an unnerving experience. But that seems to be the main rather than the exception these days and thus results in far too many movies that are all atmosphere with no meat on their bones. THE MONSTER combines that with an actual on screen creature that will hold you in it's grip.The story revolves around a young girl named Lizzy (Ella Ballentine) who just wants a normal life. Unfortunately that's not likely to happen. Her mother Kathy (Zoe Kazan) is an alcoholic party girl who has yet to mature and realize this is not a good way of life for herself or her daughter. This lifestyle sets up the deepest narrative of the movie with a love/hate relationship between the two. Lizzy loves her mother and takes care of her more than the reverse but at the same time hates who her mother is. Kathy loves Lizzy but is so entrenched in her own habits that she can't focus enough to provide what she wants for her daughter.The stage is set for a change. Lizzy's father, who left because of Kathy's lifestyle choices, is now taking over Lizzy's life. The pair is set to travel to his house so Lizzy can live there. But of course a late night of drinking means Kathy has woken late and they now must travel at night. Rain kicks on while they are on the road traveling a well wooded area, resulting in a wolf running across the road in front of them and their hitting him. With a slightly damaged car they call a repair service even though it's very late and then sit and wait.Then something happens. Lizzy notices that the wolf who was in the middle of the road is now gone. Having checked it she is certain that it was dead and yet no wolf. While checking things out Lizzy hears a growling in the woods and returns to the car. The tow service arrives and begins working on their car. He's attacked and taken by the monster without the mother-daughter couple noticing. When they do discover him missing Lizzy's worst fears are confirmed. There is indeed something out there.As viewers we're in for a treat. While the monster in question is at first nothing more than a growl or the appearance of perhaps a hand reaching out, we eventually get the payoff of seeing the monster in all of its slimy, glistening glory, big teeth and all. One way or another the pair fend off the attacks of this creature with the hope of prevailing and making it out alive. This is where the true terror kicks in. In the past both would live happily ever after. The current wave of horror films will see both of them torn to bits as the monster awaits another victim. As viewers we sit and wait to find out which of these scenarios will play out. Or will there be something new and original? One thing to consider while watching this is just who the title is referring to. Is it the creature that lurks in the woods killing off unsuspecting travelers who happen by? Is it the mother who should be acting like an adult and raising her child properly rather than behaving like the child in this situation? Or is it the daughter who loves her mother yet at the same time has wished her dead due to her antics? Or is the answer all of the above? Well made, well-crafted and well acted. The movie provides enough scares to keep you on the edge of your seat and enough story to have you thinking about the topics on hand from start to finish. At no time does it opt for an easy way out and that means the end result is a satisfying monster movie that should please fans of the genre more than many films being released these days.