The Monster (R)
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This came out in 2016, but I didn't see it until 2026. Apparently it was first released on DirecTV's on demand service, so I suppose it could be considered a TV movie, but because it had a limited theatrical release (and just because I want to), I'm listing in my theatrical films section. I should say its quality is probably a bit better than my rating of it, not that it's a bad rating. I definitely liked the movie, it's just not something that's gonna be super important to me. I also want to say it's at least half drama, probably more drama than monster movie, but I'm only linking to it under "monster movies". (I do think the movie works well on both levels.) It's some time before we actually see the monster, but once we get a good look at it, I'd say it's fairly unique. Its appearance is kind of a cross between Venom and a terror dog (from Ghostbusters). Definitely frightening, and it has some pretty effective jump scares.

A woman named Kathy (Zoe Kazan) is obviously a bad mother to her daughter, Lizzy (Ella Ballentine). I won't get into exactly how she's a bad mother, but we see bits and pieces of their relationship in flashbacks throughout the movie. Early on, Kathy begins driving Lizzy to Lizzy's father's house, but they never get there. On a dark country road running through the woods, they hit a wolf, apparently killing it. In the process, their car gets damaged and Kathy sustains some injuries. Lizzy uses her mother's phone to call for an ambulance and tow truck. While they wait for help to arrive, they examine the wolf's carcass, and find that some of its injuries were apparently sustained in a fight with a larger animal of some kind. Eventually a tow truck arrives, driven by a man named Jesse. He does some minor repairs on their car, to prepare it to be towed. While he's working under the car, he gets dragged away by the monster, and killed. The monster later attacks Kathy and Lizzy. Finally, the ambulance shows up, but the monster kills everyone who came with it. Kathy and Lizzy try to escape in the ambulance, but the monster isn't done with them yet.

Well, lots of other stuff happens that I don't want to spoil. But everything that happens from the time the monster first shows up, until pretty much the end of the movie, is incredibly harrowing and legitimately terrifying. At least this experience serves to reconcile Kathy and Lizzy... but it may be too late. I don't really know what else to say, except that it's just a really good movie. The evolving relationship between mother and daughter is compelling, and the horror aspect is, perhaps, not quite like anything I've seen before. (At least, nothing too similiar springs to mind, though the movie probably isn't entirely unique.) I'd definitely recommend checking it out, if you're into this kind of thing, and like being scared.