Writer: Brian Bertino (Screenplay)
Starring: Zoe Kazan, Scott Speedman, Ella Ballentine, Aaron Douglas, Christine Ebadi
Plot: A mother and daughter must confront a terrifying monster when they break down on a deserted road.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Great Creature Horror
Story: The Monster starts teenage daughter Lizzy (Ballentine) having to tidy up and prepare for a trip with her alcoholic mother Kathy (Kazan). With tension growing between the two the journey across country so that Lizzy can stay with her father. On the journey, they end up involved in an accident during the rainy condition leaving them stuck in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night.
When it appears, they have hit a wolf we continue to see flashbacks of the troubling relationship between mother and daughter but it is only amplified by the fact there is a monster outside the car lurking in the woods.
The Monster comes off like a very interesting horror thriller concept because the trapped with a monster lurking has been done before and well doesn’t come off to original as we run through the usual issues like ‘stay quiet’ ‘don’t go outside’ ‘we need to try and escape’. It is the look at the very bad relationship between the mother and daughter which would come off abusive in most places that put the true cat amongst the pigeons here. We see however bad the relationship is the maternal instinct will always kick in when it comes to protecting a child.
This is pretty much a two person show and I think Kazan and Ballentine both do a great job in the roles dealing with the abusive side and the horror side. Anyone else who appears in the movie is only in a couple of scenes never really making an impact. The monster itself looks terrifying and it is good to see practical effects being used by the film.
Overall: Horror film I would be suggest to the horror fans out there reading this post.
Rating