HIS MONSTER (2026)

3 stars

4Digital Media. Digital. 5th October

James (Gabriel Casdorph) is an alcoholic. Sitting in the woods imbibing he finds an odd bottle with strange markings which, when he opens it, releases a mysterious black mist — which will come back to wreck his life.

Fed up with his drinking his angry wife Su-Yeong (Ashley Song) is going to take their daughter Hanna (Miele Blanche) to her mum’s. Leaving her alone in the car, she goes to fetch the car keys. When she returns Hanna is missing. There is a raging river near their remote house. James tries to save her in his drunken state and he sees a monstrous horned figure in the woods. Screaming, the little girl falls into the water and is swept away.

Much later James has a job on a fishing vessel. Goes to AA meetings and is working at his sobriety. He is convinced a monster knocked his daughter into the water. Of course, no one believes him and just think he was a crappy parent – especially his now ex-wife who tells him to stop calling.

Then he meets Mira (Meranda Long, also one of the producers) at a restaurant/bar and ends up getting drunk with her and taking her home with him. Not the best of ideas. Especially as he is still plagued by odd noises and thinking there’s a monster outside.

Next day they go for a hike and meet a strange old woman who talks about the shojo monster from Japanese folklore. Then there are reports of an attack near the docks, one of James’s shipmates has been killed — the one he argued with.

Is it really some kind of demon let loose or does James have something to do with what is going…

This is more a domestic drama with horror leanings than an out and out horror – there’s a duality to the title. Is his monster the spectre of alcoholism or a real deadly creature. Personal or real demons.

The film is slightly oddly structured with flashbacks cut in seemingly randomly at times. Meaning it’s not always clear what is going on. Unfortunately the realisation of the monster is rather cheesy when it eventually does arrive (spoiler) but is it real?