Monster (III) (2023) User Reviews

Meh

[marton_fekete-feher · 5/10 · 17 May 2024]

It's no spoiler that this film doesn't contain any dialogue -- or maybe it is, but one that is given by Netflix themselves right from the onset. Not knowing this would have given the film more tension, something that this Indonesian made for television movie is sadly lacking.

No cliche is left untouched here. Repetitive scenes abound (the heroine hides under the bed, behind a door, in a cupboard, and this time and again). There is no surprising twist (oops, was that another spoiler?). There are no intricate plotlines to be unraveled. No attempt is made to give the capturer and his partner personality; the house with its bland interior doesn't even look like it's their own.

In conclusion, despite its rating this is essentially a children's movie, in both senses of the word, and childish at that. Would have been more effective when shortened to, let's say, twenty minutes.

Too repetitive. Was this meant for children??

[johannes2000-1 · 5/10 · 17 May 2024]

Since the main character is a tiny girl of hardly 10 years old who develops into the heroine of the story, outsmarting two grown-up villains, it feels very much as a movie meant for children. But the goings-on are pretty harsh, with stabbing and shooting and axing and several effective jump scares; so hardly children's stuff, I would say.

It's basically a very one-dimensional story: two kids are forcibly kidnapped and taken to a remote cottage. It stays unclear why: for ransom? Child abuse? Human trafficking? Unfortunately they don't give the villain and his consort even the tiniest bit of a background. The little girl is able to free herself and then a cat-and-mouse game begins between the villains and the girl. We endlessly see them running after each other through the house, hiding, being found, running again, hiding again, et cetera, et cetera. No serious twists or turns, so pretty soon it starts to become repetitive and almost tedious.

For no explained reasons (but boldly announced in the credits, so there must be a deep motive behind it!) the movie has no dialogue at all. Mostly because no-one talks, they just run around and pant and puff. But at one time the girl uses a police car's intercom to ask for help, we see her lips moving but we just don't hear her. That made this "no dialogues" seem more like a pretentious director's whim.

The kids by the way play their (silent) parts pretty convincing, especially the little girl who carries the whole movie on her tiny shoulders. And the music score is fine. But some admirable kid actors, some decent jump scares and a good score are just not enough to make a good movie.

Great Idea But Too Many Clichés

[nasikasakura · 5/10 · 18 May 2024]

I am a fan of the idea of having a film use no dialogue. (Characters only sometimes say the names of other characters, so at least the main actors are more likely to get fairly compensated as speaking parts.) I don't mind the campy fake blood as long as there is suspense and a good storyline. Cinematography definitely had good moments of creating suspense. Only twice in the film did I find myself in a moment that seemed laughable and took me out of my immersion. One was a "The Shinning" spoof of the "Here's Johnny" scene that played out impressively well, especially by a young child actress in the place of Duvall, but even in its abbreviated form, the scene is just too long to not be a bit dull and out-of-place. The other moment was when our main character stops herself from stealing some french-fries left behind by an antagonist and pouts. I can see how they intended to make this a moment of showing human-ness and generating pity for the child, but it instead came off as an out-of-place moment of levity. I can forgive those things however. The thing that really irked me was the stereotypes used to depict the "badguy" archtype; Joint-smoking, beer-drinking gamer playing violent MMO shooters late into the night, has long unkempt hair and a black baseball cap or hoody with open jacket and ripped jeans, sustaining on cup noodle and fast food, neglecting an otherwise gorgeous home that is taken for granted and absolutely infested with cockroaches. And let's not forget this is supposed to be a child predator. It's just hitting every checkmark for a bad stereotype. When we got our second villain in the story, things started to pick up with suspense.

I lost braincells watching this

[bhartleyx · 1/10 · 20 May 2024]

Oh my God, I never write reviews but this was so bad that I had to create an account.

I've never seen so many impossibly stupid decisions, even for a child.

This movie could have been done in 10 minutes if she ran and got help as soon as she escaped instead of going back inside. Again. And again. And again.

See the bad guy not even asleep yet on the couch? Let's grab the keys! Managed to silently get them? Great, let's sit here and stare at them until he wakes up and grabs me!

Get in a knife attack with him but somehow manage to stab him? Time to stare at him and watch him die. Why get to safety when I can watch the light leave his eyes?

Manage to get his cell phone? There's a button to call emergency without a PIN? NAH, let's not use that. (I guess this gets a pass for her being a child, but it's also slightly unbelievable she wouldn't know or be able to figure this out.)

Given 15 opportunities to get away? Doesn't use them.

See the bad lady with an axe approaching the policeman? No, don't warn him, just stare blankly until he's murdered.

Bad person is knocked out? Let's not run away, let's approach them and stare at them until they wake up and grab me.

Finally got my friend and escaped outside? And the antagonist is on our tail? WAIT. We need shoes. Police car right there? No, let's take a bike which gets us away maybe 5 ft, fall over, and THEN go to the police car.

After the car crashes, of course the smart thing to do is run back to the house to pick up the broken bike! Fix the bike, use it to get a minute away from the house, then drop it to run on foot again anyways. In a straight line. Where there is a nice pathway for the woman to drive the truck. Gotta be courteous!

Choice between open fields or the woods? Let's take the open field, definitely!

See the woman's car crash? Let's walk back just to check on her.

Then somehow magically get a foot stuck on... A rock? Not even sure how he managed that.

Then we have the bad woman.

Got the kids stuck in a car while holding an axe? I must approach the situation delicately and slowly circle the car and eye each child menacingly while they manage to call backup from the radio.

Get in the car which starts rolling backwards? STILL WITH AN AXE. Nah let's not USE the axe, let's try to grab them with my hands.

At the open field where the children are barely running ahead of me, WHILE IM DRIVING A TRUCK, I'm gonna drive just slow enough that I don't catch them. Then somehow flip my car aggressively a few times despite my speed being lower than that of an injured child running.

Just. Don't. Watch. This. I'm the type of person who sometimes enjoys a good stupid horror movie, but this is next level.

A piece garbage

[loyo-61345 · 1/10 · 20 May 2024]

This movie could have just been a short. Once the girl escaped, she could have just gone find help. The story has so many plotholes... like when they escaped the house but went back just to get some shoes, took their time to put it on and let the villain catch up to them. Also so many loose ends... we dont get to know the villains' motive or why dd the police came to their house. The main protagonist also made a lot of silly decisions and anytime she made any progress, her next step would also lead them to square. It was like she was doing it on purpose to fail - maybe she was the monster in the end.

W O W

[vassiliskounelis · 1/10 · 24 May 2024]

If you're considering watching it, I'd suggest poking yourself in the eye repeatedly instead - at least that way, you'll have a legitimate reason for your agony.

"Monster" is a colossal disaster in every sense of the word. From its aimless plot to its lifeless characters, it's a film that manages to disappoint at every turn.

The characters are as shallow as a puddle, the thing that didn't had dialogue is a cringeworthy collection of clichés, and the special effects are laughably bad. But what truly sets "Monster" apart is its complete lack of self-awareness; it's so bad that it's infuriating.

In short, "Monster" is an insult to cinema. Save yourself the frustration and avoid it at all costs.

It's a felony for a thriller to be a snooze fest

[dfch13 · 6/10 · 19 May 2024]

It's a felony for a thriller to be a snooze fest and make the audience doze off instead of being at the edge of their seats. I fell asleep a couple of times during my viewing, so for me Monster kinda failed its purpose.

As a thriller, Monster failed to maintain its suspense throughout as the pacing was quite slow despite the fact that it clocked in less than 90 minutes. The scoring also didn't work for me, I just don't feel that it's thrilling enough to aid the pacing of the movie.

I don't mind the "no dialog" approach this movie took at all, I really just wish it were more suspenseful with faster pacing and more intense scoring perhaps?

Who approved this terrible background noise through the whole film

[spragueeli · 2/10 · 18 May 2024]

The no dialogue thing is an interesting take that can work, but the show is the same thing over and over. The child is painted as both brave and smart yet also quite dumb, making quick moves at opportune times yet falling for silly things that would be way more intuitive in the first place. Maybe that was intentional? But it felt inconsistent and all the characters felt a bit basic and overly stereotypical.

But more importantly for almost the entire thing there is this terrible background feed of this sort of white noise highly degraded sound that comes in and out and it genuinely was terrible. Like gave me a headache and caused my to almost watch the film on mute terrible. I created this account literally to share that this sound ruined the movie. It goes on. The entire hour and a half. It's horrible.

I regret staying up late for this.

I regret staying up late for this.

I regret staying up late for this.

I hate that stupid sound.

Smartly Conceived & Executed...!!!

[PANDIAN120621 · 6/10 · 17 May 2024]

Striking surprisingly with a single-location thriller without a dialogue "MONSTER" is an Indonesian thriller that promises to be a spine-chilling roller coaster ride...

The performances, while not outright terrible, also leave much to be desired. Marsha Timothy and the rest of the cast do their best with the material they're given, but ultimately, they're let down by a lackluster script and uninspired direction...

Director Prijanto has certainly made a name for himself in the world of Indonesian cinema...However "Monster" feels like a step backward in terms of innovative script... What carries the movie is the kids presence of mind and the fact that they are bold enough to face the situation...

Occasionally, just occasionally, there are moments of brilliance that catch your eye and leave you momentarily dazzled. The eerie lighting in certain scenes, and the claustrophobic framing as our protagonists navigate their nightmare, are the glimpses of potential that keep you hanging on. But for every striking composition, there are ten others that feel uninspired and flat. It's as if the cinematographer took a nap halfway through shooting and only woke up to capture the good stuff...

Monster" is its failure to deliver on the promise of horror and suspense. Sure, there are a few jump scares here and there, but they feel cheap and uninspired. Where's the tension???

Also the two main antagonist doesn't seems to be vulnerable enough but atlast it's the kids that seems to be anti-monster campaigners...

Overall a typical popcorn movie to timeout ur weekend relaxation...

Worst movie I've ever seen

[mike-80485 · 1/10 · 16 May 2024]

I don't get how this movie could get 4.7!! It should be maximum 2. Don't waste your time.

They don't say a word.

Nothing make sense.

The ending sucks.

Everything sucks..

The only good thing here was the camera they was filming with. I would delete this film from my record if i was the director of this movie.

I don't understand why the "mail man" was coming, do they ship boxes made of kids? Do they sell it? What was the point for the kids to go back to the house all the time, they could have made a run way back. And don't make me going about the woman, why is she so bad at catching these kids in every scene!!

I did enjoy it...

[jiggly-76561 · 8/10 · 27 May 2024]

I did like it. It was disturbing yet edge of seat. There were a few "why didn't she just do (this or that)?" But over all it had its moments. Left things to your imagination, which is enough for me. The young girl Alana is a great actress and the little boy is too. I'd need therapy acting in this as a kid. Just from the duct tape.

I felt the movie was a brilliant way to show the acting and emotion with having no words. I would love to see more horror movies like this one. Had Skinamarink vibe to it.

I don't understand why people gave it a bad review. Other than towards the end. Quite a few "come on" and maybe an eye roll moment. But, still good in my book.

Don't say a word

[kosmasp · 6/10 · 25 May 2024]

I'll never tell - oh wait that is from a different movie. So no pun intended - also there are a few words spoken here (I did not count them, in case you were wondering) ... overall it does stay ... well "silent" when it comes to dialog. This is not a silent film though - I read someone even being annoyed by ... noises. Just in case you were wondering.

I actually am not a fan of this "gimmick" driven movies. And while one of the main characters might have chosen a different path ... the movie was able to get my attention and was suspenseful from start to finish. Is it predictable? For sure. Are the bad guys way over the top? Also true (well true in the sense of within the movie and what it does) ... it is a thriller in the end ... and it does try something kind of new ... I've seen worse, but I get it, if you are not swayed ...

It's Been a While, But This Takes the TENET award for most annoying sound.

[ryanpersaud-59415 · 3/10 · 21 May 2024]

I don't hate the idea of a film having no dialog. Monster is as simple as a concept as it gets, and realistically, dialog wouldn't be a major aspect of the story anyway. No, the biggest flaw with Monster isn't the LACK of sound, it's the EXCESS of sound.

I just saw Challengers and that was a movie where sound design and mixing were a major aspect of what made it great. This is an example of a movie where the sound design is truly awful. It was a droning, crackling score that initially had me wondering if my TV speakers were broken. (Thankfully, no...I moved to another TV to finish the movie and it was the same situation)

This droning score plays through the ENTIRETY of the movie and it's unbelievably annoying. Not to forget about the score, which is so melodramatic and intrusive that it veers into very corny territory. Music is so important because it can set or ruin a film's tone. Here, the over dramatic music and over use of a terrible score made this film feel cheaper than it needed to. The last time sound made me feel so negatively about a movie was probably Tenet.

As for non-auditory aspects, I think it's fair to warn people that Monster is a very dark movie that follows two children as they attempt to escape a child murderer. Given that...I do wish we did get SOME dialog. It's such a disturbing premise that some levity and humanity on screen would be welcome. Some explanation as to what's going on? What the larger story is here? Or even some of the motivations of the admittedly detestable adults we see in the film would add a layer of intrigue here aside from the relatively compact story we see on screen.

I generally like to support foreign films and go a bit easier on them, but I think Monster needed some tweaking to actually work. As of now, it's a forgettable and undercooked film.

Dont waste your time

[sigitrizky · 1/10 · 17 May 2024]

This movies is one of the worst movie I ever watched my whole life, and for years I am subscribing almost all of streaming services aired in Indonesia. The director should stop making horror movie. The movie is trying to be artistic with its effort of having no dialogue, but this is making a lot of scenes is not making sense. Kidnapped children should be really afraid and screaming back or cursing towards the kidnapers, but in this movie no. There's no explanation throughout the movie regarding the lack of dialogue as well. My advice if you haven't watched it, just skip it. It's really a waste of time.

The story is lame and the non-dialogue idiotic!

[FlopHouseDK · 3/10 · 24 May 2024]

The non-dialogue simply doesn't make sense! Especially when the police man entered the house and sensed that something was wrong!

So many parts of the movie which doesn't make sense: You can carry a boy on your shoulder, but can't drag his chopped-up body in an ice cooler? However, a little girl has no problems dragging your dead body out of the house!?

You stab your capturer but decide to wash your hands and try to open his phone before saving your friend?

You get out of the house and suddenly want to grab your shoes because you stepped on some glass instead of running away!?

Don't watch!

easy pieces

[imdb-294-839654 · 3/10 · 17 May 2024]

If you just want to see something while you are eating some food and want to kill some time while you are waiting for the next tennis set, or similar.. then perhaps this will do..

Very short: A very bad man of worst kind is kidnapping 2 small children (as he obviously used to do for fun?) Later we get and idea that his making some money for selling small kids chopped up in a frost boxes.

Are he selling the fresh meat to a famous michelin restaurant? (The spoilers: We never find out!)

The children is acting as good as they can. Especially the girl.

The cinematography is sometimes not that bad and the color grading is good.

But the movie itself is so boring because you can exactly figure out each scene before it happens.

But somehow it kept me awake, and I just wanted to see if it would end like I predicted.

..and It actually did.

And since I spend even more time writing this short review, well something about this movie must have been interesting.. hmm.. but I can't figure out what. Ha..ha.

It wears out its welcome

[pmtelefon · 4/10 · 19 May 2024]

"Monster" is an okay movie, I guess. Wait, on second thought, it's not that great. It starts out as a rather unpleasant watch. Then after while, it gets repetitious. It never gets boring but it does get stuck in second gear. The first half of the movie is better than the second half. The no dialogue is fine for a while but then it ends up being a silly, rather ineffective gimmick. For a movie with a very friendly running time (86 minutes), "Monster" begins to feel like a long movie. 86 minutes long or not, it should have been about twenty minutes shorter. "Monster" is another straight-to-Netflix dud.

A remake or copy cat?

[ckn728 · 5/10 · 18 May 2024]

If you seen the US movie "The Boy Behind the Door" then you know what I am talking about. This is literally a replica with no dialogue. Not sure if they intended for this to be a remake or not but this version is terrible. I do give kudos to the girl in the movie, she can definitely go far with her acting when she gets older. The suspense in the beginning is good at times but then I'm like, this is giving me Deja vu because I've seen this already. This movie shouldn't have been made but I guess when there's nothing else to watch on a Friday night and you want to kill time then this is it lol...

Very good film. Ignore the bad reviews.

[FrannyFine · 9/10 · 23 May 2024]

Whoever gave this a bad review is obviously one who cannot be entertained when a movie has no dialogue. At first I was a bit sceptical. When I saw that the victims were young children I wasn't sure if I wanted to watch it. And I told myself that if it goes too far (you know what I mean) I would turn it off.

There was a part when I fast forwarded a bit (I couldn't bare hearing the kids screaming while gagged), however this didn't last long and within moments I was hooked. The fact there was no dialogue made it more intense. Think A Quiet Place.

Yes there were a few unrealistic scenes, especially how did he leave the girl for such a long time in the car (or so he thought) without ever checking if she was still there and hadn't escaped. It was a nice twist that his accomplice was a woman and at first it would have you asking the question, is she unaware of what her husband is up to or is she part of it too?

Those who commented there was no explanation as to why the children were kidnapped, um yes there was. The bedroom with the cameras, the photos and tapes the girl found? No one can be that naive. Getting rid of the bodies was so they wouldn't get caught.

And if you're upset about too many cliche's and unrealistic scenes, you've got to remember that this is a horror film centred around 10 year old kids. No one wants to see children being treated grotesquely. The film got the point across without showing too much. Why would you need to see more?

1 on 1 copy after 3 years of 'the boy behind the door'

[rungs-footingm · 1/10 · 28 May 2024]

Spoilers!

This is a 1 on 1 copy of 'the boy behind the door'. Funny enough I watched that one a few days before watching 'monster' and the more I watched the more details were 1 on 1 copied. 2 kids abducted, okay fine. 1 child sort of escapes the kidnapper and stays lingering around the house to safe its friend. Same but still okay. Child that is still held in the house in shackled with his ankle to a chain to the wall. Okay now its starts to get fishy. Kid that lingers around the house gets in a cat and mouse with the kidnapper, kidnapper slips in the kitchen while having a knife fight with the kid. Now it started to get hilarious. Kid throws water from the kettle that was boiling earlier but the water has obviously gone cold now. Kidnapper slips and hits his head on the kitchen counter. Kid approaches the unconscious kidnapper and kidnapper gets wakes up, tries to get up and gets stabbed by accident by the kid holding a knife in front of her. Kid covers the kidnappers face with a cloth. All the same! Kidnapper has a casio type digital watch that is counting down time! All the same exact details! How did they ever launch this movie. I stopped here but my guess is the kid drags the body out of sight, cleans up the blood in the kitchen and when the countdown stops a car parks in front of the house, shining its headlights in the house, meanwhile the kid is liberating its friend upstairs and another cat and mouse chase starts. Crash axe through the bathroom door, cut the hand of the wife of the kidnapper through the hole of the door. Probably the kidnappers wife comes home, then the kid finds a phone to call the police, police comes but initially doesn't find anything suspicious, officer comes inside the house where the wife increased the volume of the tv and gets killed by the wife. All exactly the same as 'the boy behind the door'. Kid gets in a fight with the wife and handcuffs her to some piping somewhere in the house, she gets loose eventually more cat and mouse well you get the idea. The boy behind the door being a silly movie already, was around a 4/10, don't bother watching monster.

IT'S A FANTASTIC THRILLER!!

[topmarketindonesia · 9/10 · 20 May 2024]

It's really a very different movie, a different thriller than ever before, all the time it's been made and the heart beats. I think it's really different because of his camera angle and his scoring that makes us good in his movie. The acting is also a great champion, I highly recommend this movie to those who want to watch a horror movie but the boson is the same horror film that exists. I love the set and all the things in the movie

The thriller film "Monster" offers a stunning cinematic experience with deep storytelling and complex characters. One of the most outstanding aspects of the film is the director's ability to create intense tension and a dark atmosphere, keeping the audience constantly at the tip of their seats. The appearances of the actors, especially the protagonists, are so strong and convincing, adding a layer of emotion and realism to the story.

The carefully written script takes the audience through unexpected plots, ensuring that every moment is full of suspense and mystery. The use of lighting and background music is also very effective in adding scary and dramatic nuances to the film.

Overall, "Monster" is a very impressive thriller film that manages to combine elements of tension, drama, and psychology in a very satisfying way. It's a must-see for fans of the thriller genre who are looking for something more than just action and fear, but also incredible story depth and character development.

the best film I watched

[fandi-75812 · 10/10 · 20 May 2024]

A film that has very little dialogue but is very enjoyable, very tense and makes you nervous, this is a very good film to watch together

with the background of school children being kidnapped, it is very relevant to Indonesia, with kidnapping. This is a very good film, I will recommend this film to my friends

For the first hour, you may find yourself completely confused, unsure of the actual themes depicted here. Does it center on the troubled minds of children, or does it delve into the realm of bullying, abuse, or even something more sinister?

At one point towards the ending, there is a moment of dialogue between two particular characters. I won't give away any details to avoid spoilers. These characters say some simple lines, but these lines are so devastating and emotionally raw that I can hardly describe them. The screenwriter and director make everything look so simple, but something like this cannot be easily imitated or achieved.

SURPRISINGLY GOOD!

[dellever-67698 · 8/10 · 19 May 2024]

I didn't expect to be caught into the movie as deeply as I was. I was just looking for a movie to pass the time. It grabbed me. Lol There were times the kids did 'kid things' and the adults had to adjust to respond accordingly. This kinda annoyed me. But I guess the kids would act that way in a real-life situation anyway.

The intensity was subtle. But it still pulled you in.

One thing I couldn't figure out was who was really the monster. Honestly, it could've been any of the three. But in the end, it made sense.

The no dialogue didn't make a difference. It's a scary/suspenseful movie. All you need are silence and screams. Lol It's a 'watch it for me'!

film is really nicely executed

[sambuelalvito · 10/10 · 20 May 2024]

The movie is really nicely executed, and definitely gets props for a creative story. I truly didn't expect it to go where it was going and probably never would have lol. But there's a lot of decisions made in the movie that we're really stupid. Ended up routing for the antagonist till the end. Main character made no dam sense.

Now, this is how you make a horror movie. It's intense, creepy. It's has a solid plot with outstanding character's that you get attached to. I would say it's one of the best Horror films in the last decade quite easily. Just brilliant from start to finish. If you're looking for a Horror film that's original then this is it. 10/10.

Great movie

[jtc-07306 · 10/10 · 20 May 2024]

This was a great movie......The writing was awesome too....... Yes, there is no dialogue, but it keeps your interest..... The director did an amazing job in trying the point across and told a story without dialogue....... Not many people can do that...... The actors did a fantastic job also...... The kids did great...... They used their acting skills to get the story out there..... It really kept our interest. I would recommend this movie......so watch this movie....it really is a good movie.....Not sure why we have to wrote so much for a review, so in just trying to fill the rest of the characters so I can post how great this movie is.