Monstrous

Monstrous

Laura, traumatized by an abusive relationship, runs away from her former husband with her seven-year-old son Cody. But in their new, idyllic and remote sanctuary, they find they have another, bigger and more terrifying monster to deal with…

  • Released: 2022-05-13
  • Runtime: 89 minutes
  • Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thrillers
  • Stars: Christina Ricci, Santino Barnard, Don Baldaramos, Colleen Camp, Lew Temple, Carol Anne Watts, Peter Hodge, Nick Vallelonga, Sally Elbert, Rachael Edlow, Philip V. Bruenn
  • Director: Chris Sivertson
 Comments
  • moviegoo - 16 January 2024
    Short Review - Poor Execution
    Great visuals, shots, composition, and overall cinematic value. Actor Christina Ricci serves her role well. However, the concept for the movie has been done before, making the reveal feel very cheap. The child actor is just bland. The visual effects and monster look super budget by comparison to the overall camera direction. Side actors barely add anything to the script. Dialogue comes across as cheesy, especially between mother and child. The best part of the movie was the shift between fake and real with the mother picking up a smart phone. It was super well done, however it doesn't really make up for an otherwise mediocre experience. Not a terrible movie, but nothing amazing either.
  • dioland - 21 March 2023
    A Muddled Mess
    Unimpressive movie with a ho hum twist. Channel surfing, i caught the last hour of the movie, and knew within minutes what the deal was. Even so, just to be sure i wasn't being overly critical, i went back and watched it again from the beginning. My first impression was the right one. It wasn't sure what kind of movie it wanted to be, and threw stuff in to make sure it covered all the bases. The child actor Santino Barnard held his own against Christina Ricci, whose performance carried this movie, and doesn't get the respect she deserves. If it were anyone else, chances are good i would have bailed altogether after the half viewing. A good effort.
  • henry8-3 - 9 December 2022
    Monstrous
    Christina Ricci takes her young son to live in a new location, having apparently run away from an abusive / negligent husband. Each night a creature emerges from the lake by the house and goes after the young boy, who seems remarkably sanguine about the whole thing.

    Whilst this is not really that frightening and there is no real gore, it is an intriguing mystery, ideally suited to Ricci's persona. Whilst there are some clues and bewildering scenes in the first hour as to what the creature is after, they tend to come thick and fast in the last half hour as the fog starts to clear. Certainly not great, but interesting, if light-weight and overall better than I was expecting.
  • jimbo-53-186511 - 8 October 2022
    Has intriguing elements, but it's still something of a letdown
    Laura is fleeing with her son from an abusive relationship with her ex-husband and moves into a remote lake side property. From an early stage, Laura senses all is not well with the property and its surroundings (her son claims to hear voices and sees monsters and finds himself drawn to the lake outside). So what exactly is going on at this house?

    Monstrous is rather strange in its early stages and its somewhat puzzling working out what's going on. Despite this though it does have an element of intrigue which makes it somewhat watchable. I initially thought that Monstrous had an allegorical subtext; i.e the Monster is a metaphorical representation of her relationship with her husband - the Monster attacking her and not leaving her alone. Whilst this may be part of the meaning behind this film, it seems to be very much about something else by the time the end credits begin to roll.

    Christina Ricci is very good in the lead role; she has a skittish vulnerability about her which makes her a commanding presence in the film. Colleen Camp and Don Durrell are also good in their repsective roles with their good cop/bad cop routine often causing confusion to Laura.

    Where the film is a little disappointing is the ending (everything is laid down too thick making the twist fairly easy to work out). I wouldn't go as far as saying it ruined the film, but it could have been implemented with a little more subtlety.

    Not bad all told, but could have been better.
  • bodeezhtdaflor - 3 July 2022
    Not Bad
    Not a bad movie. It's definitely a rental at best. Don't skip it, ignore the haters. If you're a fan of the movie Clue check out Colleen Camp. She's definitely changed but great seeing her still acting. Great cast. Nice creature fx.