When elevated horror gets too obviously elevated, you get stuff like this. A very on the nose story of an alcoholic who fights a monster without and maybe a monster within too.

Released in 2016, the film was written and directed by Bryan Bertino, who also directed the 2008 horror film The Strangers. It stars Zoe Kazan as the alcoholic and abusive mother Kathy. And Ella Balentine as the fed up daughter Lizzy. Lizzy has hit her breaking and demanded to live with her father and step mother. Kathy in the depths of her addiction has agreed and drives Lizzy through a long and dangerous woods. On the way they hit a wolf, and something far larger and more sinister lies in wait for them just off the road.

It’s a classic set up. Stranded drivers being hunted by a predator. It’s a can’t go wrong set up, so where did this one go wrong? It focused too much on the “metaphor” of addiction.

Elevated horror is the name given to the modern trend of horror films that both comment on the genre and subverts its tropes while also telling deeper stories about the darker sides of human nature. This has resulted in some of the scariest movies I’ve seen, Hereditary and the Babadook come to mind. In spite covering similar territory, The Monster is no Babadook.

The Monster does everything but come right out and say the monster is a metaphor for alcoholism. It’s too obvious and too on the nose. The movie beats you over the head trying to tie its imagery of abuse with the imagery of the monster in the woods. There’s no commentary or nuance. It’s just Alcoholism = monster.

It also spends way too much time on flashbacks that don’t add any layers or depth to the characters. It’s just abuse flashback after abuse flashback that kills any tension or momentum in the main timeline and just makes the mother seem worse and worse. The mother daughter dynamic isn’t built out in a meaningful way. Kathy is awful and Lizzy puts up with it.

The monster design is cool, but our characters are too passive and static. They sit in their car and watch the monster do things. They never really try to escape in a meaningful way. There is no cat and mouse game. It’s just Kathy and Lizzy watching the monster eat the paramedics. The monster eating the tow truck guy. The monster lumbering around in the rain. If Lizzy was trying to get out and get the keys for instance, but the monster keeps stopping her that could be seen as a metaphor for how alcoholism prevents you from growing and moving forward in life. Or their lack of movement could be seen as a metaphor for staying with the abuser. But that’s not the relationship or dynamic that they’ve built. The women stay in the car waiting for help. When help arrives, it gets eaten. The women wait for more help. When it arrives, it gets eaten. It’s a very stale movie. Its premise and execution leave a lot to be desired.

I wasn’t scared. I wasn’t compelled. I was mostly bored. It’s not a great start to the month of scares, but I’m excited for what’s to come.

C Not my cup of tea.