The Monster
by Pou-Soi Cheang
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alex Fong, Kar Yan Lam, Qi Shu, Suet Lam, Tam Chun HoDirector: Pou-Soi Cheang
Brand: TAI Seng Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Chinese (Subtitled); Cantonese (Original Language)
Format: Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 92 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-05-30
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Tai Seng
Movie Reviews of The Monster
Movie Review: It may not be horror, but it is a good movie.
Summary: 4 Stars
I picked up The Monster (Or "Home Sweet Home" as it's subtitled and found in IMDB) at my local rental store expecting just what the cover and description on the back of the box promises - a good Chinese horror flick. Everything about the presentation of the movie promised a frightful 92 minutes, which at least the first 15 minutes of the movie provided. After that, however, is another (and fortunately much deeper)story.
The premise seems simple: A young family moves in to a nice, new apartment complex, when the mother begins to notice strange sounds and movements in the shadows. It all seems to fixate on her young son, finally resulting in the child's kidnapping by the monster in the walls. Shortly thereafter is when the horror ends. You are so exposed to the so-called Monster (played wonderfully by Kar Yan Lam) and her story that she soon loses all her fright-factor, instead becoming a pitiable figure you feel sympathy for as well as repulsion from. While there is a sense of tension for what will happen to the young mother and her child, it's certainly not the kind of white-knuckle fright expected from Asian horror these days.
The movie bills itself as a Horror Drama, but it'd be far more honest to call it a drama with elements of suspense and horror. As previously stated, the Monster uses up most of her ability to horrify early on, and the movie does not resort to cheap startle-thrills to get you scared. Despite a few 'ew' moments, it also steers clear of turning your stomach. See that picture on the cover of the mother staring horrified through glass as the monster sews herself up? That's not actually in the movie, and you won't find much like it in the movie either.
But don't let a little thing like lack of real horror scare you off of what really is a good movie about what a mother will do for her child. May, the mother of little kidnapped Chi Lo, may not be a sudden genius tracker and hand-to-hand combat expert, but she is a real woman with a brain and a real sense of desperation about her as she struggles to reclaim her son. Chi Lo steals your heart within the first few minutes of air time, and proves there is definitely more to him than a plot device to spur on both May and the Monster. And finally, the real draw to this movie is the Monster herself. She's much more than a simple movie-spook, she's a genuine feeling character in her own right, and to say more would just ruin the fun.
So the bottom line is, don't be fooled by the packaging - if you're just looking for a scare, this is not the movie for you. But if you don't mind a little scare and would like to see a human drama with a definite twist to the telling, The Monster might just be the movie for you.
Summary of The Monster
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