“Monster,” a 2024 Indonesian horror thriller, delves into the harrowing ordeal of two young children, Alana and Rabin, who become tangled in a nightmare of abduction and survival. The film opens with schoolchildren going about their everyday lives until a chilling encounter with a mysterious black car sets off a chain of events that pushes Alana and Rabin into a dangerous situation. They are kidnapped by a sinister man named Jack. As the narrative unfolds, the tension escalates as Alana courageously attempts to free herself and rescue Rabin from captivity within Jack’s eerie home. Inside, Alana confronts horrifying truths about Jack and the frightening activities hidden within his residence.
This article contains spoilers.
Monster (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
“Monster” (2024) opens on a normal day as kids head out after a long school day. In the area, a strange black car passes by and almost hits Alana and Rabin. The kids halt for a second but continue cycling with lollipops in their mouths as the black car follows them. After another day at school, both Alana and Rabin visit the arcade and play some games. As Alana continues to play, Rabin heads out but does not return. Worried, Alana gets out of the arcade to look for Rabin. In an alley behind the arcade, Alana spots the same strange black car. The man, Jack, closes the trunk of the car where Rabin is captured. Realizing what has happened, Alana starts to scream, but Jack ties her up and puts Alana in the trunk as well.
What does Alana do after escaping from the car?
Kidnapping both the children, Jack drives home and parks his vehicle in the garage. However, Jack only picks up Rabin and takes him inside the house, leaving Alana tied up in the trunk of the car. At home, on the first floor, Jack puts Rabin down to fetch keys to open one of the many doors. But Rabin starts to feel the walls using his body and tries to escape. Rabin’s efforts go in vain as Jack carries Rabin and puts him in a room. Meanwhile, Alana kicks the trunk of the car and uses something sharp from inside the car to cut the tape over her eyes. With a lot of difficulty, Alana climbs out of the car, finds a nail, and uses it to free her hands before venturing into the kidnapper Jack’s house.
Now Alana knows she needs to rescue Rabin, so she watches the house from the outside before throwing a stone through a window, making it easy for Alana to enter the house. Meanwhile, Jack is unaware that Alana has broken into the house, and he goes about his business as usual. The atmosphere is tense as Alana hides inside a cupboard in the kitchen filled with cockroaches without making a sound despite the creepiness. After a while, Jack enters Rabin’s room and cuts his forearm, making Rabin panic. Now, Alana ventures into the first floor of the house. In one of the rooms, she notices a video camera and lights.
How does Alana get caught?
The whole setup of the room seems to be used for child pornography, and as Alana continues to explore the room, she finds a young dead/drugged boy under the bed. At the same time, Jack sees a light turned on in this bedroom and walks inside cautiously with a pocket knife in his hand. Even though Alana is scared after seeing the boy, she hides as she hears Jack walking toward the bedroom.
Cautiously, Jack looks around but does not find anyone, and he takes the dead/drugged boy and walks towards another bedroom. Curious, Alana stealthily follows Jack and is horrified as Jack cuts the boy using an electric saw. After Jack finishes cutting the boy, a man appears at the door. Jack then hands over the body of the dead boy, which he had kept in cold storage. Later, Jack takes a nap on the sofa, and Alana takes the opportunity to take the keys to Rabin’s room door. As she puts her hand on the key bunch, Jack wakes up, scaring Alana.
Is Jack dead?
Fearing for her life, Alana starts to run away from Jack, and Jack chases after her. At first, Alana tries to hide inside a room by blocking the door, but Jack breaks through it. Not giving up, Alana then takes a stool and hits Jack before running to a different part of the house. The chase continues, and they reach the kitchen. First, Alana throws boiling water on Jack, but it does not slow him down. Next, Alana picks up a kitchen knife, tries to defend herself, and manages to scratch Jack’s arm. Until now, Jack didn’t feel threatened by Alana, but now he is moving carefully. Suddenly, Jack slipped, his body colliding with the countertop before crashing to the floor. Unsure if Jack really is dead, Alana gets close to him, and Jack wakes up. This startles Alana, and she accidentally stabs Jack, who bleeds to death.
Can the police help Alana and Rabin?
Now, Alana is scared, but she knows she needs to escape the place, so she cleans up after herself. Hoping to use Jack’s phone, Alana tries to unlock it, but no passcode seems to work. Alana changes her plans and looks around the house and finds an old telephone, but she also finds pictures of young children, which could mean Jack was keeping tabs on the children they have abused and killed.
As Alana rests thinking about her next move, she sees Murni (Jack’s partner and possibly lover) coming towards the house. The first thing Alana does is hide and call the police using the old phone. Meanwhile, Murni enters Rabin’s room, and Rabin defends himself with the sharp edge of a folded plate, scratching Murni’s hand. As this goes on on the first floor, Alana drags Jack’s body and hides it outside the house.
Unaware of an intruder, Murni calls Jack and hears his phone ringing outside the house. As Murni comes out, she finds Jack’s dead body, and her body goes stiff. Realizing that she could be in danger, Murni picks up an axe and starts looking for the intruder inside the house. First, Murni destroys the phone, and she hears a noise in one of the bedrooms and rushes to the top.
Up there, Murni finds Alana, and a chase ensues, but Alana locks herself in the bathroom. Since Murni has an axe she starts to break the door down but is interrupted by police sirens. Covering her tracks, Murni plays loud music before opening the door for the police officer. Taking the chance to escape, Alana jumps off the bathroom window. At the same time, the police officer is suspicious and starts to climb the stairs when Alana appears behind him helpless. The police officer is distracted, and Murni strikes him with an axe, killing him immediately.
Monster (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
Can Alana rescue Rabin?
Now, Murni loses patience with Alana and starts chasing her with the police officer’s gun. Mindlessly, Murni starts to shoot, and luckily, Alana escapes and runs to the top floor. However, Murni follows Alana, making space by pushing the police officer aside. As Murni reaches the top of the stairs, Alana hits Murni’s head with a vase. Because of the attack, Murni falls down the stairs and is unconscious.
Seeing Murni’s state, Alana rushes to Rabin to rescue him, but his leg is chained to the wall. Taking the electric saw, Alana then cuts the chain, and they run for their lives. However, as they approach the stairs, Murni is missing, and now the kids are worried. On the ground floor, as Alana looks for a way out, suddenly, Murni appears from behind and tries to attack the children. Luckily, both Alana and Rabin fight and run to the garage.
What happens to Murni in the end?
Unfortunately, Alana hurt her legs while trying to escape. Despite being in pain, Alana finds Rabin and her shoes, and Rabin finds a bicycle in the garage that they take to escape. However, Murni catches up to them, and the kids leave the bicycle and enter the cop’s car. The kids lock themselves inside, and Alana uses the walkie-talkie to get help from the other cops.
Filled with anger and vengeance, Murni climbs up the car, breaks the windshield, and enters the car. But Alana thinks fast and pulls the hand brake, making the car move. Suddenly, the car hits a rock, pushing Murni further inside and making her lose her grip on the children. The kids then take the bicycle and run away. Unfortunately, Murni chases the kids until sunrise. Just as the kids thought they were free, Rabin gets his leg stuck between a rock, and Murni picks up her axe to kill the children, but at that exact time, cops arrive and shoot Murni. The film ends with the cops rescuing Alana and Rabin.
In the end, Alana and Rabin, who are likely siblings, survive Jack and Murni’s kidnapping and abuse. The film does not have any dialogue except in two or three instances, which makes it a lot more eerie. The acting and the story are to the point, and there isn’t an overuse of background music to manipulate us into feeling any particular emotion. The shots tell the story without the need for excessive music or dialogue. Without saying a word, the film, through Alana’s eyes, gives us a background on who Jack is. Jack seems to be a pedophile and a murderer, as he kills innocent children. However, Jack does not act alone, and there is a possibility that more people or a bigger organization is involved in these crimes.
