Your Monster (2024)

​"Your Monster" stars Melissa Barrera, Tommy Dewey, Edmund Donovan, Kayla Foster, and Meghann Fahy.  Released on October 25, 2024, the film has a young actress discovering a monster living in her closet.

The film was written and directed by Caroline Lindy in her feature debut.  It is based on Lindy's 2019 short film.  Love can be complicated at times.  It can lead you to a happier future with your partner or take you to a place known as "Heartbreak Hotel."  In this situation, it might even guide you to someone who is hiding in your own home.  Most of the time, I've been watching horror films that are more focused on scaring the crap out of its audience.  So, this weekend, I decided to watch a horror film that's a little bit more humorous and even romantic.  Well, it's more along the lines of those two elements than straight-up horror, but it's got a monster in it, so I guess it counts.  But is it worth falling in love with this Halloween season?  Let's find out.

The story follows Laura Franco (Barrera), a young actress who's been down on her luck recently.  She has been diagnosed with cancer and got dumped by her boyfriend/theater director Jacob (Donovan), resulting in her moving back into her apartment home.  As she struggles to rebuild her life, Laura eventually comes across a mysterious figure living inside her closet.  The figure is revealed to be a human-sized monster (Dewey) who appears terrifying and ill-mannered on the outside but is also genuinely empathetic.  This discovery sparks an unexpected friendship between Laura and Monster, eventually turning into something more.   

This was another movie I didn't expect to watch until its trailer said otherwise.  While it's more like a typical rom-com, a genre I don't usually get into, its twist involving a modern-day "Beauty and the Beast" enticed me to check it out amid the sea of horror.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm always in the mood for something terrifying, but sometimes, I like to mix it up with some laughs and heart to accompany the horror vibes.  Another reason for my interest is Melissa Barrera, who's currently on her own path of "scream queen" fame after being unfairly fired from the upcoming "Scream" sequel for speaking her feelings.  She started that path very well earlier this year with the entertaining "Abigail", and based on the reviews for "Your Monster", it seems like she's got another horror hit on her hands.  But did I feel the same way after watching it?  Yeah, I did.

As mentioned earlier, "Your Monster" is best described as a modern-day "Beauty and the Beast" but without a magical curse that transforms people into singing and dancing objects.  However, it's not precisely a beat-by-beat rehash of that classic love story.  Instead, it used that inspiration to depict self-love with a monstrous and anti-romantic twist.  We see Laura struggling to cope with her breakup and diagnosis, which interferes with her dream of starring in Jacob's production.  With the appearance of Monster and her discovery of her ex-boyfriend's true self, she gradually learns where her heart lies while fulfilling her dream as an actress and expressing her genuine emotions.  It shows that sometimes, it's okay to be honest with your feelings and even let your anger out when someone treats you poorly.  While it may seem like another rom-com about regaining self-love and opening up, "Your Monster" is another example of a genre mashup done right.

On the one hand, the film is a humorous and endearingly charismatic love story that has enough humanity and charm to overshadow most of its genre tropes.  On the other hand, its approach to storytelling and twists somehow lacked enough bite in its horror elements to embrace its bizarre appeal further.  Despite having a monster that looks more like a caveman than a creature, "Your Monster" is a down-to-earth anti-romance story that emphasizes more of its character-driven arcs than its pointless comical shenanigans.  If that's your thing, then you might find plenty of things to enjoy in "Your Monster", including Caroline Lindy's direction and screenplay.  Lindy is another filmmaker whose feature debut is the expanded version of their short film, which can be hit or miss depending on the extra material given.  As someone who hasn't seen the short film, I thought Lindy did a good job balancing charismatic romance with dialogue-driven comedy.  She may not add something unique to the presentation, but with the material given, Lindy properly provided some teeth in its monstrous concept and cast to deliver a refreshing outlook on its romantic tropes.

Much of the charisma comes from the film's main leads, who delivered lots of fun, heart, and occasionally fierceness in their performances and chemistry.  Melissa Barrera continues to showcase her irresistible talent regarding her diverting portrayal of Laura.  She proves she can carry a tune in drama and comedy alongside her "scream queen" vibes, especially in the one scene involving Laura and Jacob.  Let's just say that Barrera ate that scene up like you wouldn't believe.  Not only that, but Barrera also showed that she can really sing her heart out.  Believe it or not, "Your Monster" has some musical moments amid the genre mashup that allowed her singing talents to shine.  With "In the Heights" and "Your Monster", I'm convinced that Barrera should star in more movie musicals alongside her horror projects.  Tommy Dewey was also very endearing as the titular Monster, thanks to his combination of discourteous mannerisms and heartwarming likability.  I'm also impressed with the practical makeup design created for Monster, even if he does look like the caveman from the Geico commercial.  Additionally, I realized that Dewey was also in "Saturday Night" as Michael O'Donoghue as I was writing this review.  That's an impressive turnaround for the actor I wasn't familiar with until now.

Edmund Donovan was also suitable as Jacob, Laura's ex-boyfriend, who gradually showed his true colors as the film progressed.  However, his performance got slightly over-the-top in the third act, resembling something from a cartoon involving short-tempered directors.  I would also credit Meghann Fahy for her decent moments as Jackie Dennon, an actress who stole Laura's main lead in the production.  It would be interesting to see if the "White Lotus" breakout star can keep that streak going with her two upcoming films next year: "The Unbreakable Boy" and "Drop".  As for Lindy's screenplay, it certainly has its cheeky sense of humor and romance in the dialogue, even if the narrative may not be satisfactory with its emotional themes.  I would also point out that the film's ending got me puzzled at first regarding its storytelling, but after thinking it over, it started to make sense to me.  It wasn't what I thought it would be, but when it comes to its horror-comedy essence, it was pretty bold for the film to take that approach.

Overall, "Your Monster" is an endearingly monstrous treat in the rom-com genre with enough bite to sing its way through some of its narrative shortcomings.  Its screenplay may not offer much else to invoke more wildness in its themes, horror-comedy, and concept.  However, as a down-to-earth romantic comedy that focuses more on drama than scares, it was a surprisingly pleasant and refreshing love story that was elevated by its talented actors.  Of course, the two actors that stood out the most were Melissa Barrera and Tommy Dewey, who delivered a consistently entertaining chemistry that'll make audiences roar with delight.  Caroline Lindy's directorial effort is far from extraordinary, but her direction for the genre mixture and humor makes this another decent recommendation to the genre's fans.

B-