“Your Monster” by writer/director Caroline Lindy, based on the short film of the same name, is a wonderfully campy horror rom-com with an empowering underlying message and a genuinely funny script.
Furry Love
Following a cancer diagnosis, soft-spoken actress Laura Franco (Melissa Barrera) is broken up with via text by her hotheaded playwright boyfriend Jacob (Edmund Donovan). While in the care of her best friend Mazie (Kayla Foster), Laura cries, eats pie, embarrassingly texts to her ex and cries some more (we’ve all been there).
That is until, on a stormy night, she meets the hairy monster (Tommy Dewey) living in her closet. He promptly asks her to leave as he is not fond of roommates. What follows is a hilarious horror rom-com that has the main character learning to find her voice after being wronged so badly.
Though the two initially butt heads together, this hirsute new roommate’s crass and goofy attitude, acted wonderfully by Dewey, is exactly what Laura needs to break out of her shell. The two have excellent chemistry going from spats to genuine advice.
Laura decides to return to the production and try her luck with getting her original role back. Unfortunately, she finds that it’s been taken by much more established actress Jackie (Meghann Fahy). Fahy is refreshingly not written to be unlikeable and is instead pretty supportive of Laura when it counts (no spoilers).
Over the course of production, Laura learns to stand up to her petulant playwright ex while simultaneously falling more for the monster. This leads to a spectacular breakout moment during the opening night of the show.
Female Rage
It’s a “Female Rage” narrative spurned on by accepting that something hurtful was done to her and that it’s okay for her to feel angry about that. It’s the crux of her character arc that she no longer confines her feelings to hushed tones.
It’s never confirmed whether the titular monster is even real. What’s more important is that he’s real enough to Laura to inspire some real change in herself. There’s a suggestion of something more involving the monster that’s potentially supernatural but it’s never confirmed and the movie is actually stronger for that.
Laura is the perfect character for Barrera. Not only is Barrera a theater nerd, but throughout the film, she grows into becoming more self-possessed. It’s a role that echoes her past musical work in “Carmen,” “In The Heights” and her work as a horror heroine in “Scream.” The latter shows her versatility as an actress and that there is a future for her despite being fired from the “Scream” films.
“This movie has comedy, romantic comedy, horror and musical theater. All the things that I love in one. It was a no-brainer,” said Barrera in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
The movie was released as part of Sundance’s Midnight premiere series which is a prestigious achievement all on its own. While it has yet to be picked up by a distributor, with the accolades it is been receiving in recent reviews, it’s only a matter of time.
