The Monster (2016)

Kathy (Zoe Kazan) is driving her teenage daughter Lizzy (Ella Ballentine) to her father's house as it is his turn for custody. Tired of taking care of her abusive, unstable, alcoholic mother, Lizzy makes it clear she wants to live with her father permanently. As night falls, Kathy hits a wolf with her car. But its injuries look like they were sustained by an animal attack rather than their car. Kathy is injured in the collision, forcing Lizzy to call a tow truck and ambulance.

The tow truck arrives and its driver, Jesse, begins working underneath the car. Lizzy notices the wolf's body is gone and becomes frightened. Tired of bickering, Kathy gets out of the car to talk to Jesse but cannot find him. Jesse's severed arm abruptly lands on the hood of the car. A severely mauled Jesse crawls out of the woods, only for a monstrous creature to drag him under the tow truck and eat him before Kathy can help.

Attracted by the sound of music emanating from Lizzy's teddy bear, the monster drags Kathy out from the car, but is scared away by the approaching ambulance before it is able to kill her. As Kathy and Lizzy cower in the ambulance, the monster slaughters the EMT team. It smashes into the ambulance when Kathy tries to drive off, causing her to swerve into the woods.

Kathy begins vomiting up blood and realizes she has internal bleeding. Now aware that the monster is scared away by bright light, Kathy uses her lighter to make a torch and tells her daughter her plan. She is going to run into the woods so the monster will chase her while Lizzy escapes to get help. Kathy tells Lizzy that despite her behavior, she truly does love her—even more than life itself.

Under the impression Lizzy has gotten away, Kathy allows the monster to attack and kill her. But Lizzy, who was unwilling to leave her mother behind, chases it away with the flashlight. A distraught and enraged Lizzy uses her mother's lighter and a spray can from the ambulance to set the monster ablaze. It attempts to lunge at Lizzy with its last bits of strength, but she finally beats it to death with a large stick.

Lizzy recalls a particularly hateful, alcohol-fueled encounter, after which Kathy apologized and told Lizzy that she would grow up to be a better person than Kathy was. As the sun rises, Lizzy emerges from the woods.