Monster Movie Review

May 17, 2019

2 minutes read

Review Overview

Performances

Story & Narration

Technical Aspects & Music

An engaging, innovative comic drama!

The comedy here is enjoyable by one and all, and in this holiday season, it won’t be a surprise if the school-goers would like to take a detour to the theater to see this jolly entertainer.

Cast: SJ Suryah, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Karunakaran and others

Cinematography: Gokul Benoy ; Music: Justin Prabhakaran ; Editing: Sabu Joseph ;

Art Director: Shankar Shiva ; Written & Directed by: Nelson Venkatesan ; Produced by: Potential Studios ;

Run Time: 02:19:00 ; Release Date: 17-05-2019

Films with creatures are a rarity down here in Tamil cinema, and even more when the animal here isn’t a usual, friendly one like a cat or a dog. Keeping a house rat at the center of the proceedings, Monster is a decent, inventive joyride that keeps you engaged for its run-time. Though the film could have been 20 minutes shorter, it surely is a good attempt for putting together something new.

Monster starts off with a middle-class man in SJ Suryah going in search of a house for himself, and finding a suitable one after little struggle. The troubles begin right after he finalizes the place, as he encounters his house been trampled by a house rat that stops at nothing to wreak havoc. The events that follow narrate what happens to SJ Suryah’s character, his marriage and a sub-plot that involves a diamond. The film mainly sticks to the comic path involving the track between SJ Suryah and Karunakaran, with Priya Bhavani Shankar offering good company as the female lead. There are a lot of sequences that are organically designed to make you laugh, and that works majorly because of SJ Suryah’s terrific ability to emote through just his eyes, facial expressions and body language. The sequences with the rat fade in comparison to the actual comics that take place, with the emotional twist at the end helping the film gather more love.

The cinematography by Gokul Benoy and the editing by Sabu Joseph complement the film’s proceedings quite well. However, the length is definitely an issue, as cutting short the reels by 20 minutes would have made it way better. The film does go a step higher thanks to the awesome work by Justin Prabhakaran. Be it the songs or the score, Justin proves that he is here to stay with a very matured and well-constructed style of music.

After a very good debut with Oru Naal Koothu, Nelson Venkatesan takes a change in genre by opting for a lesser-explored space in Tamil cinema. The film, at parts, does feel like a kid-friendly Disney adventure tailor-made for the little ones to enjoy. The comedy here is enjoyable by one and all, and in this holiday season, it won’t be a surprise if the school-goers would like to take a detour to the theater to see this jolly entertainer.