The Monster lacks bite in the actual horror department, but like many other good horror films before it (Rosemary's Baby, The Shining), it plays with the anxiety of this very primal fear-the betrayal of the mother.

| Feb 22, 2017

A fully realized depiction of elemental fear and desperation, The Monster's modest scale should attract discerning genre fans while establishing a firm basis for potential cult status.

| Nov 12, 2016

A film like Bryan Bertino's The Monster, featuring a fantastic and fearless performance from Zoe Kazan, feels oddly timely.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 11, 2016

An admirably lean-and-mean execution of an elemental horror story.

| Nov 11, 2016

Mr. Bertino, who also wrote the undercooked script, sets the scene effectively, using his leads to give the story a sense of normalcy that he dismantles trick by genre trick.

| Nov 10, 2016

The Monster offers solid performances and a real-world subtext. But those virtues aren't enough to keep the movie from getting stalled in some big bad woods, miles short of profundity.

| Nov 10, 2016

Not least of the surprises here is that even when "The Monster" is trying to scare you witless, its every scene insistently reaffirms its characters' humanity.

| Nov 10, 2016

A simple but skillfully told shocker.

| Original Score: B | Nov 10, 2016

The film has an eerily WTF arbitrariness that should be the domain of more films in the genre.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 10, 2016

It's an intriguing combination in theory, but the individual elements both feel a little half-baked, and stirring them up into one doesn't help.

| Original Score: C+ | Nov 10, 2016

There's little originality scared up by "The Monster," but that doesn't make director Bryan Bertino's horror flick easier to watch through the gaps in your fingers.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 9, 2016

It's an engaging and worthy watch that teases great potential in everyone involved.

| Original Score: B | Nov 7, 2016