Monstrous (2022)

Chris Sivertson has been making movies for just over two decades now. Which you might not realise after watching Monstrous (or reading any past reviews of his work from myself, when I would consistently mis-spell his surname). It's not that this is a bad film. It's a film based around an idea, from writer Carol Chrest, that Sivertson obviously thought was strong enough to carry the whole thing. Sadly, that's not the case.

Christina Ricci stars as Laura, mother to young Cody (Santino Barnard). The two have just moved into a new home, rented from Mr. and Mrs. Langtree (played by Don Durrell and Colleen Camp), and it's quite clear from the earliest scenes that things aren't normal and pleasant. Laura seems to have her daily routine interrupted by strange visions that don't make sense, and she likes to take the edge off her stress with alcohol, while Cody seems to be unable to make any new friends, with the possible exception of someone he claims lives in the lake right beside their home.

That's all I'll write to describe the plot. It's all you need, and it's all the film presents for the majority of the runtime. Chrest is credited with two films to her name, as a writer, and her last film, The Prophet's Game, was over twenty years ago. I haven't seen that one, but the gap in between her two main features helps to explain why Monstrous feels like a debut. Aside from Ricci in the main role and some nice touches throughout (from the costume and makeup to the overall production design), there's nothing here to recommend this to anyone who has already seen more than a dozen movies in their lifetime. Sivertson incorrectly puts his faith in the material, but he saves himself from complete embarrassment by also putting his faith in Ricci.

Acting as a woman who is trying to maintain a facade of exemplary parenting while barely keeping her neuroses from piling up and suffocating her, Ricci is superb. Doing her best interpretation of a typical '50s housewife, albeit one trying to stay as far away as possible from an apparently abusive ex-husband, Ricci is constantly ready to act deferential and politely smile at people around her while she attempts to find the time to repeatedly piece her sanity together. Barnard does well enough as the young boy who may be seeing a bigger picture than his mother can make out, but he might have been able to make a stronger impression if he wasn't the main character who suffers most from Chrest's writing. Durrell doesn't have too much to do, but Camp at least gets to portray someone who is very suspicious and unhelpful, to the point of being someone you suspect may prove to be the straw that breaks the camel's back (and I hope Ricci never accidentally stumbles across this review and resents me for referring to her as anything akin to a camel).

Sivertson is a decent film-maker. I have enjoyed other movies from him, although All Cheerleaders Die is much more fun than I Know Who Killed Me, and I hope to enjoy whatever he delivers in the future. This didn't hit the mark though. The atmosphere doesn't really work, there's a lack of any real tension, and the grand finale doesn't do nearly enough to reward viewers for their patience. Ricci fans will find her performance a big plus. Everyone else should avoid this altogether.

3/10

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Shudder Saturday: Monstrous (2020)

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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