Parents' Guide to Monster (2024)

Movie NR 2024 83 minutes
Monster 2024 Movie Poster: 4 windows with silhouettes

Common Sense Media Review

Jose Solis By Jose Solis , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 16+

Disturbing, dialogue-free horror has violence against kids.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 16+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

What's the Story?

In MONSTER, Jack (Alex Abbad) kidnaps two schoolchildren, Alana (Anantya Kirana) and Rabin (Sultan Hamonangan), and brings them to a house where he will undoubtedly perform horrible acts on them. Little does he suspect that Alana has a plan to free herself and her friend from his evil claws.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

Director Rako Prijanto had a great idea: making a horror film set in one location with absolutely no dialogue. The problem is, the novelty in Monster goes away pretty quickly and all we are left with are almost 90 minutes of an evil man torturing a pair of cherubs. The characters have no depth and although there is obviously no justification or explanation of why anyone would want to hurt kids, Prijanto's lack of allegorical meaning doesn't make the film smarter than it is. It's an unpleasant watch from beginning to end.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how Alana shows courage by trying to escape from Jack.

  • What was it like to watch a film without any dialogue? How does this add to the feeling of dread that permeates the movie?

  • Jack is certainly the Monster of the title. Why do you think he behaves in such a cruel manner?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by

Monster 2024 Movie Poster: 4 windows with silhouettes

What to Watch Next

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate