Sometimes on a shelf at Best Buy you can find some interesting films. In this case, I found “The Monster,” from the director of “The Strangers.” This film is from 2016 and is about a mother and daughter squabbling in a car late at night. The mother accidentally hits a wolf, which shocks them both. They don’t know, though, that the wolf was actually being chased and menaced by a hideous monster. The movie is about how they each react to being trapped stalled on the road with the monster lurking nearby.
This film works for several reasons. The monster is compellingly freakish, and created practically, without CGI. The mother and daughter both give compelling performances. There are some good monster kill scenes. Finally, the director is a master at building suspense, about as good as anyone I’ve seen recently. I prefer small horror films like this to big ones like “The Conjuring” and (eek!) “The Mummy.” If you find this film at a store or on streaming, I recommend checking it out. It’s bloody good!