Movie Review: Uncork’d Entertainment’s Monstrous – Promising Monster Flick Disappoints

Genre: Horror

Monstrous movie key art - Uncork'd Entertainment — MONSTROUS Something is out there.

Director: Bruce Wemple

Cast: Anna Shields, Rachael Finniger, Grant Schumacher, and Hannah McKechnie

Studio: Uncork’d Entertainment

Runtime: 85 minutes

Release Date: On VOD August 11, 2020

Reviewer’s Rating ★★★★★

Monstrous follows Sylvia (Anna Shields) whose close friend Molly (Hannah McKechnie) has gone missing in Whitehall, New York. The town, famous for its Bigfoot sightings, has had a string of women disappearing with many of the locals blaming the mythical beast. Sylvia learns that all the victims had been in contact with Alex (Rachael Finniger), a local before they vanished. Sylvia suspects that Anna is the real culprit behind the mysterious disappears, so Sylvia decides to answer her online ad about traveling to her remote cabin; thus we have our horror film.

Monstrous_Still_02 — MONSTROUS from Uncork’d Entertainment

I really wanted to like Monstrous because I enjoy monster and horror films. With the lack of either releasing due to COVID-19, I needed something to fill the gap. And while there is a great thriller buried in here, Monstrous ends up being disappointing due to an unfocused script and a sluggish pace, which, coincidentally is written by the film’s star Shields.

The characters lack any sense of urgency which puts a hamper on the film. What really kills the film. Our lead character meets up with Alex and end up driving and talking for 20 minutes before they finally get to the cabin. Then they continue to sit and chat for another 20 minutes which eats up about 40 of the 85 minutes of the film’s runtime. While we learn a bit about these characters, nothing exciting happens until the final act. This type of extended dialogue could work if the film had a sense of foreboding tension, utilizing a slow-burn approach with the time spent in the car and cabin, yet in spite of the set-up, it doesn’t feel like Sylvia is in any danger throughout the majority of the film.

The inclusion of the Bigfoot mythos also left me scratching my head. The so-called monster serves almost no narrative purpose with the exception of the local folklore, and if you were to remove the few scenes the creature is actually present, the events of the film would play out the same. I thought maybe the creature serves to act as a metaphor for the film’s themes but the only one that feels applicable ‘the real monsters are human,’ which feels more like an exaggerated tripe. Bigfoot ends up being a deus ex-machina. The script’s strongest merits are the themes of trauma and the lingering effects on someone as time goes by. When we learn more of Sylvia’s past and how it correlates to the current events of the film, I found Monstrous quite effective.

Monstrous_Still_05 — Anna Shields and Rachel Finninger in MONSTROUS

The editing of the Monstrous is surprisingly poor. I’m not talking about small continuity errors, but rather entire chunks of film feel like they’re missing from scenes. There’s a chase sequence in the beginning of the movie which involves a character driving then getting out and running. The sequence is edited in a way where it seems like this character teleported yards in between shots. There are multiple sequences like this and at times it becomes incredibly difficult to follow the action that’s happening on screen.

Despite my criticisms, there are some moments of the film that actually piqued my interests. Without spoiling anything, there is a scene where a character watches an event unfold on a camcorder. It’s eerily visceral and uncomfortable to watch. This scene is easily the best moment of Monstrous due to its realistic practical effects; it echoes similar horrific videos people have uncovered on the darkest corners of the web.

Another similar moment involves a knife and a hand which is equally cringeworthy. There’s also a death that’s probably one of my favorite horror movie deaths this year. Whenever Monstrous decides to bare its fangs, it is surprisingly vicious.

Monstrous_Still_03 — Grant Schumacher in MONSTROUS

Shields and Finninger have tolerable chemistry. It’s not fantastic, but the two pull off performances that are both properly subdued and completely unrestrained when called for. I wish Shields’ script had more punch so they could have really flexed their acting chops; however, the two actresses make the more mundane scenes watchable. It’s too bad the same can’t be said about Grant Schumacher who plays Sylvia’s friend Jamie. He tries his best yet his performance as the comic-relief is one-note lacking the timing needed for the laughs.

Monstrous is far from being the worst film I’ve seen this year but it’s sadly forgettable. It’ll probably escape your mind after the credits roll exactly how it’ll escape mine when I’m done with this review. If you’re a horror buff and want to see some fun gory moments, and don’t mind sitting through some filler, I’d say rent it the next time you have a free lazy afternoon.

For more on this film visit:
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12198504/

Trailer: https://www.yourentertainmentcorner.com/uncorkd-entertainment-monstrous-available-on-demand-and-dvd-aug-11/

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Dustin Kogler

Professional amateur movie watcher. Dustin is a laid-back nerd who loves discussing pop culture. He loves listening to 80s music, playing video games and watching netflix all day. He's pretty sarcastic and if you tell him your favorite movie he can tell you why you're wrong.