Movie Review: ‘Your Monster’

Melissa Barrera and Tommy Dewey shine as the mismatched pair in this story of self-confidence, relationships and musical theatre.

(L to R) Tommy Dewey and Melissa Barrera in 'Your Monster'. Photo: Vertical.

Opening in theaters on October 25th, ‘Your Monster’ is that age-old story of girl-meets-monster, girl-hates-monster, monster-wins-girl-over, girl-starts-to-assert-herself. You’re probably thinking to yourself, “have I heard this one before?”

All right, so probably not, since what writer/director Caroline Lindy has here worked up something that feels fresh and different, even as it plays with well-established genres and ideas such as jealousy, self-doubt and whether the monster in your closet could be a romantic partner.

Is ‘Your Monster’ a satisfying beast?

Lindy’s film uses the genre trappings to introduce us idea of Laura (played by ‘Scream’s Melissa Barrera) who, despite her stage ambitions, has mostly shuffled through life as a quiet, unassuming person who uses performing and music to express herself. She’s going through cancer treatment, and as if that wasn’t enough, her composer/director boyfriend Jacob (Edmund Donovan) has just broken up with her.

Yet in spite of everything going on, Laura finds the heart and gumption to apply for the lead in the musical that she essentially helped Jacob create, only to discover he’s giving the main role –– written for her –– to someone else. At the same time, she meets the monster that has been living in her mother’s house for years, and who scared her as a child.

Initially, it’s an awkward roommate situation, but then they both start to catch feelings (it doesn’t hurt that Tommy Dewey’s creature looks like he could be related to Ron Perlman’s Vincent from the 1980s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ series).

Script and Direction

(L to R) Melissa Barrera and Tommy Dewey in 'Your Monster'. Photo: Vertical.

As writer and director, Lindy has a strong grip on her vision for a movie that mixes horror, romance and comedy together, while also saying salient things about the way women are treated, especially in show business and how some people just need to really find their own voice.

It’s such a layered, entertaining film that gets its messages across while also finding time to be zany and emotional all at the same time. And even the musical that is being written –– Jacob’s pretentious, preachy ‘House of Good Women’ is actually a solid show you could imagine hitting the stage. It’s the layers and details such as those that make this work to a higher level.

Visually, it does a lot with a relatively thrifty budget, and some moments, such as Laura finally making her way into the monster’s world beyond where she thought her closet extended, a place festooned with missing items from the house, is brought to life in impressive fashion.

Performances

The movie provides showcases for its leads that, if there were any justice, would be star-making roles.

Melissa Barrera as Laura

Melissa Barrera in 'Your Monster'. Photo: Vertical.

Barrera has been proving for a while that she’s got what it takes as an actor, putting in solid work in the more progressive likes of TV series ‘Vida’ or franchise fare such as the ‘Scream’ movies. ‘Your Monster’ hews more towards the former, giving her the chance to excel and it’s one that she really takes hold of to full effect.

Her Laura is initially a wallflower, but she blossoms thanks to her own strength and some support from her new beau, though given how complicated her story turns out to be, the character is more than your average protagonist.

Tommy Dewey as the Monster

Tommy Dewey in 'Your Monster'. Photo: Vertical.

Dewey has similarly been proving that he’s a star in the making given the chance; anyone who has seen him steal scenes in this year’s ‘Saturday Night’ knows that. ‘Your Monster’ has even more for him to do, and he’s great in the role of the grumpy yet sensitive beast who has spent far too long lurking in the shadows.

And as with Barrera’s character, the Monster is a performer when he needs to be, with Dewey delivering everything from Shakespeare to showtunes at times.

Supporting cast

Edmund Donovan is both slimy yet believable as Jacob –– he’s a man with some clear talent (even if he lets his ego get in the way most of the time) and you can understand why Laura might have fallen for him in the first place.

As Mazie, Laura’s brash, outgoing best friend, Kayla Foster does a lot in a relatively small part that, like some of the others, breaks free from what could be a standard character.

Likewise Meghann Fahy is great as Jackie Dennon, who appears when we first meet her to be every inch the charismatic Broadway star but is revealed to be a mass of insecurities and far more human than her initial gloss might suggest.

Final Thoughts

Tommy Dewey in 'Your Monster'. Photo: Vertical.

This is Caroline Lindy’s directorial debut, but she’s been working for year as an actress and has made both shorts and episodes of TV. She’s a refreshing voice who will hopefully enjoy a long career as a filmmaker, because on the strength of ‘Your Monster,’ she has more than earned it.

With luck, ‘Your Monster’ will find its audience, and though it may turn out to be more of a cult it, it deserves to be seen by as many people as possible, if only to prove that genre mash-ups such as this can still be impactful and inventive.

‘Your Monster’ receives 7 out of 10 stars.

What’s the story of ‘Your Monster’?

‘Your Monster’ is the story of soft-spoken actor Laura Franco (Melissa Barrera), who is dumped by her longtime boyfriend (Edmund Donovan) while recovering from surgery and retreats to her childhood home to recover.

With her future looking bleak, insult is added to injury when Laura discovers her ex is staging a musical that she helped him develop.

But out of these gut-wrenching life changes emerges a monster (Tommy Dewey) with whom she finds a connection, encouraging Laura to follow her dreams, open her heart and fall in love with her inner rage.