The volatile relationship between mother and daughter is the real monster of the movie. The mother is also a monster because she is so lost in her addictions. The actual monster of the movie stands as a metaphor for all the damage and trauma of this relationship. Movies like this make my literature teacher brain tingle with delight. The monster is an interesting creature to think about. It parallels the dysfunctional relationship of the mother and daughter while at the same time serves as the catalyst to bring them together and motivate the mother to finally do what she needs to do for her child. It is also interesting to note that the monster has ample opportunity to attack the daughter early on in the film but does not do it. To me, this speaks about how human beings often live in monstrous relationships under constant threat. Even though this dysfunctional mother behaves horribly, she still has some restraint when it comes to her daughter. The wild part of her is violent and uncontrolled while the maternal part of her will only allow her to go so far. Couple this with the onset of rain and darkness and the eventual coming of the light and calm weather at the end, and you have a classic look at how setting and action can work in tandem to create powerful parallels. In the case of The Monster, this is done to brilliant effect.
The practical effects of the film are excellent and bring to mind the monsters of past fame. The monster looks good but is mostly kept off-screen and in darkness for much of the film. This is effective as a tension and dread building device. The creature and the circumstances of the film come off as a marriage between the Xenomorph from Alien and the plot of Cujo. The overall result of this combination makes for one of my favorite monster movies in a long time. I love the aspects of the movie that pull from the creature features of yesteryear. The Monster may be a bit heavy-handed in its presentation, but it is a film that I thoroughly enjoyed. If you are looking for a great creature movie, I can highly recommend it. I am glad to see this type of film that takes the tropes of the monster genre and tries to give it some heart and soul. Monster movies are far too often afflicted by cheesy scripts and ineffective CGI. However, The Monster is handled fantastically in every regard. Once again, this is a film that needs far more mainstream attention than it is getting. We can only hope that director/writer Bryan Bertino continues to grow as an artist. He has given us a fantastic movie that I was happy to spend time with.
comicbookcreature on Instagram
@herocreature on Twitter
Subscribe to Tom's YouTube channel HERE!
No comments:
Post a Comment