“The Monster” (** out of four) was a glum horror thriller about an estranged mother and daughter (Zoe Kazan and Ella Ballentine) who are besieged by a terrifying monster when their car breaks down on an isolated road. Derivative and sluggish thriller alternates between the monster stalking them and flashbacks to the mother-daughter relationship and why they dislike one another. A game attempt by director Bryan Bertino but doesn’t have enough scares or thrills to sustain a feature-length film. Extremely stylish cinematography from Julie Kirkwood is a definite plus.