Don't know why so many dislike this movie? Just because there is no nonstop action? The horror aspect of it was great. Everyone can relate to being afraid in the woods at night. Also an unimaginable moster makes a debut so makes the guessing and scared aspect a bit better then most. One of the best non cgi movies I've seen. The music is also matched perfectly with this flick. Music has a huge impact, if you don't believe me check out some of your favorites I'm sure you will get the jest of it. Now on to the family dynamics....... WOW. The anxiety lvl brought up between the mother and daughters relationship is emmi worthy and makes the horror aspect better. One of mi favorite not only horror movie but favorite movie in general.

Honestly what a yawn fest. Struggled to stay awake through it.

This monster drama horror is okay, very slow paced, kind of relatable especially if you live that kind of life and trying being a single parent. The movie does good job giving a interested enough story for the characters and making feel their mother and daughter relationship. The dark woods they get stick in and rain for the night is pretty eerie and scary and creepy enough that you easliy get intrigued and into it quick. Yes, is a little slow to get started with the backstory with relationship of mother and daughter but if u pay attention it does get really good and ending is okay and acting is not bad. All in all a B+👍👍

A24 fan, this one was different Spoiler… was the beast her father?

Absolute junk. No idea how it's certified fresh. Oh yeah, bought and paid for.

A24 gets an F...24 for this junk they made

Wow, did that come undone in a hurry… The first 40 minutes of this movie made me think that something interesting might happen; but at a certain point, you start to know that every other character exists only to up the body count and *will* die in the dumbest ways possible. And as for the heavy-handed metaphor involving the “grand plan” at end of the movie with the surviving characters… Holy hell, was it difficult to not laugh and ask “Why the hell?…” Just monumentally disappointing. If you’re a young writer or director, just let someone else handle the other creative task to serve as some kind of check against unilateral input.

I expected a great thriller/horror film but instead watched the most A24 of all A24 films. Which, don't get me wrong, I love A24 films but damn did this one have a whole lotta build up with no reward. I wish I could have that 1.5 of my life back.

Anybody that is speaking even remotely good about this movie is mentally not all there.. I've never seen a worse movie in my life and I'm a flick watchn guy.. worst acting worst plot worst actress ever..

I suppose it's a bit ironic that the least interesting aspect of a movie called THE MONSTER is, you guessed it, the monster. With a few changes here and there, I don't know if the actual appearance of the monster would be necessary at all. As I've mentioned in other horror movie reviews I've done, what goes unseen is much scarier than that which we see. Thankfully, the monster has limited screen time, and we are treated instead to a wonderfully tense and disturbing film that slowly and steadily builds suspense and captures our attention. The highlight of the movie is a complex and sometimes painful relationship between a mother and daughter - there are a couple incredibly emotional scenes between them that are probably the most effective of the film. Kazan at first seems a bit miscast and overplays the tough mom, but she hits her stride quickly and delivers a strong and empathetic performance. Ballentine, as the daughter, is pretty much flawless and gives one of the better youth performances I've seen recently. The bulk of the movie reminds me of one of those campfire tales that get told in the dark of night right before hitting the tents. But the flashback scenes between mom and daughter add a heft and resonance to the proceedings. With movies like this, HEREDITARY, MIDSOMMAR and THE WITCH under its belt, production company A24 is becoming the go-to for intelligent and unique horror films.

Between Kazan's performance and the effective creature design there is just enough going on here to make this work.

Such a stupid movie with a stupid plot

Really good horror movie. I don't particularly care for the * moster* trope, but this one was really good. The characters make this a a pretty dang great movie , in my opinion. The protagonists in this movie are a mother -daughter team. And they are ONE. The mother is an alcoholic who can't win for losing. Her daughter is Essentially *the mother*. The daughter doesn't live with the more stable father because she is scared of what will happen to the mother. It's such a very believable situation..the movie is very satisfying because of their dynamic.

Surprisingly good, scares and jolts abound. Monster is creative and vicious too!

Tense build up that leads to a b-movie washout with a ridiculous, tedious script. Very poor to the point of being comically bad.

This movie was very well made. It had a sad story about child abuse, and addiction to boot. I would highly recommend. It wasn't a long movie either like most movies are now.

A mother and daughter must confront two monsters: a motherhood affected by a drug addiction and a real monster lurking in the woods. However, the most terrorizing moments of the movie are driven by the flashback scenes depicting the traumatic drama of this family. Monsters are real!

I LOVED IT! creepy creature!

Had me on the edge of my seat the whole time and crying by the end. The underlying backstory told throughout causes you to experience all kinds of emotions. The Monster itself is really well done and acts just like a natural predator.

I just wanted the crack whore mother to get brutally raped and murdered by the monster since the moment the movie started.