A film about Bigfoot that doesn't really focus on Bigfoot, Monstrous is an interesting way to make a low-budget creature feature without leaving viewers completely unsatisfied. Which isn't to say that everyone will be pleased with the final result. This is a film that people should be warned about beforehand, in order to suitably lower expectations.
Spurred on by her friend, Jamie (Grant Schumacher), a young woman named Sylvia (Anna Shields) heads on a trip to try and discover what happened to a missing mutual friend, as well as some other missing individuals. She meets up with Alex (Rachel Finninger), a young woman who may have some idea of things that have gone on, and a relationship starts to develop. Bigfoot, meanwhile, may be waiting to strike, supposedly starting to kill humans after years of existing peacefully alongside them.
Shields, as well as bagging the lead role, also wrote the screenplay here, and she has a good overall feel for dialogue and teasing out some of the main plot points. It's fairly obvious early on exactly what is going on, but there are some nice misdirections that never feel as if they're cheating viewers.
Director Bruce Wemple, who made this as the first of three creature features in a row (his last one, Dawn Of The Beast, ALSO being a Bigfoot movie written by Shields) knows what he's doing when it comes to overcoming the limitations of a low budget, most of the time anyway. He puts in some cracking shots that show the size of the main creature, but keeps things either shown from afar or partially hidden. It's only in the finale that he slips up, but we all know that his only other option would be to get criticised for never showing the central creature, so I think he tries his best with what is available to him. Importantly, and often a small thing not well-used enough by independent film-makers, the sound design helps, especially in a key creature moment.
Shields and Finninger do well in their roles. Although she gets a lot right, the main problem with the writing is the rapid pace with which the two main characters form quite a strong connection, but the performances help to make that less of an issue. Schumacher isn't onscreen for long, but he does well enough with what he's given. And Dylan Grunn is credited as the main monster, so he deserves a mention here for his good physical work.
Probably destined to be criticised by many for what it isn't, rather than what it is, Monstrous comes close to being a rough little gem. It's a Bigfoot film that's not really about Bigfoot, with the title having a nice double meaning, but it's also a character piece that also has the monster available to keep things from becoming staid. The fact that it doesn't all quite come together as well as it could is outweighed by the fact that everyone tries their best to make it work. It's an admirable attempt to avoid the laziness that can so often be found in this subgenre.
6/10
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