The Green Monster (2011)

Review by Sean Patterson



"Molly...I'm thinking burgers.”

I have a tendency to judge a movie by its cover art. Consequently, I sometimes underestimate low-budget movies with a cheap looking cover. The Green Monster is another lesson that I probably won't learn in why that is not a good idea.
The DVD of The Green Monster is very well put together. There are multiple audio tracks, including a commentary. In fact, everything about the movie indicates the great care with which it must have been crafted.
It's hard to discuss the story without giving anything away, so I'll go ahead and spoil the movie a bit. A couple who run a convenience store somewhere in the south moonlight as killers and cannibals. That's it, mostly, though there are themes of old bayou magic and class warfare. This couple doesn't abide the richer folk in town.
For a low-budget movie, this one gets all of the technical aspects right. The audio is looped and the dialogue is only occasionally difficult to understand. The camerawork is interesting and playful. There is some noticeable CGI in parts, but it doesn't stay on screen long enough to look cartoonish. The editing is good and I never lost the thread of the story. The opening 10 minutes and the following title sequence (which has some excellent music) are a highlight. The movie is a short 80 or so minutes, which turns out to be the exact right running time.
The gore in The Green Monster is well done and plentiful There are bullet wounds, impalings, and a scene near the end definitely made me wince.
The writing isn't cliche and is funny at times. The acting is hit-or-miss, but the main characters (especially the villain) all nail their parts.
The Green Monster is not a monster movie in the Godzilla sense, but it is a monster movie nonetheless. I recommend not judging this one by its cheap-looking cover and enjoying it for the bloody, fun, and quality slasher flick it is.