Review By Jon Donnis
It has been a while since I have seen a Christina Ricci film, so long in fact I cant remember the last one, so with that I was looking forward to seeing Monstrous.
The basic story is as follows
"A terrifying new horror awaits Laura (Christina Ricci) and her seven-year-old son Cody when they flee her abusive ex-husband and try to settle into a new life in an idyllic and remote lakeside farmhouse. Still traumatized, their physical and mental well-being are pushed to the limit as their fragile existence is threatened."
Although there are a couple of other characters in the film, this story mainly revolves around Laura (Christina Ricci) and her young son Cody (Santino Barnard), the film starts off with Cody in his bed, hiding under the sheets, your typical child hiding from imaginary monsters. We quickly change to Laura driving Cody to their new home.
As the film progresses we learn that Laura is seemingly escaping an abusive ex, and with Cody they can start fresh in a new town, new school for Cody, and a new life in a house by a lake.
Of course, things are never that simple, as soon enough it seems that there is a lake monster. Add Laura's ex getting her phone number and keep trying to ring, and you have two frightening issues to deal with.
Now at this point I don't want to say any more except for one thing, there is a twist in the film, now usually at this point I will tell you how I saw the twist coming and it ruined the film for me, HOWEVER, I never saw the twist coming. And that fact alone made this film ten times better for me.
Although the film in advertisements comes across as your typical horror film set by a lake, it does have extra layers, that I cant reveal for it would spoil the film, and I don't want to do that.
Christina Ricci puts in an excellent performance, and really delivers emotion that you the viewer can feel, and up the last scene, she grabs you as a viewer, and that is something very few actors have the ability to do.
The Good
Christina Ricci is excellent in this film, completely believable and portrays every emotion needed to sell the story.
The Bad
Some of the monster special effects could have been done better.
Overall
This is so much more than just a film with a monster in it, it is a horror/thriller with extra layers, and at just about 85 minutes it is a decent length that never dragged for me.
I really enjoyed this film, and made me want to watch it again.
I score Monstrous a very strong 8.5/10
Out Now on Apple TV - https://apple.co/3LteXoS
