The Monster

The Monster is not the typical horror. In fact, the 'horror' refers more to the tumultuous relationship between the young mother and her teenage daughter. Of course, there is a monster, but in a triple entendre form. There are three monsters: Monster #1) The Mom, Kathy, an alcoholic whose husband Roy has left her. She takes her anger out on her teenage daughter, Lizzy, mostly verbally. Watching her curse at her daughter is sad (the language is not for shock value but rather to show the mom's desperate nature) and you immediately feel for them both; Monster #2) The mother-daughter connection, a damaged and furious love; Monster #3) The monster in the woods who serves two purposes. It is first a literal monster, something like the one in Alien but more frightening in appearance. This is where the traditional horror comes into play. But it also serves as a symbol of the destructive nature of the mother-daughter kinship. Like the monster, it is bitter, ugly, horrifying, and ready to devour. The best part of this movie is that we see a real look at a daughter who just wants her mother's love and a mother who, due to her painful past, desires to reciprocate but is afraid to. So this film doesn't depend on jump scares for the sake of horror but rather explores one of the most precious relationships of all--that between a mom and her daughter.

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