Your Monster (based on writer-director Caroline Lindy’s 2019 short of the same name) follows Laura (Melissa Barrera), a sweet, soft-spoken woman whose blossoming relationship and career as an aspiring actress are devastated following a cancer diagnosis. Alone and at rock bottom, Laura forges an unlikely friendship with Monster (Tommy Dewey), the long-suffering creature living in her closet.
Alongside the likes of Lisa Frankenstein and Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, Your Monster joins the ranks of 2024’s offbeat horror romantic comedies—taking the beats of the classic Beauty and the Beast story while updating it with a strange, screwball comedy-horror flare. Admittedly, of the three, Your Monster’s script is the least elegant, leaning heavily on familiar romantic tropes and opting for low-hanging comedic fruit.
But where Lindy’s script may be slightly lacking, Barrera and Dewey are a match made in heaven, with a simple yet undeniable opposites-attract, will-they-won’t-they dynamic that left this writer longing for a series following their domestic exploits. Barrera plays against type as the dorky doormat Laura, but between her full-throated performance and Matthew Simonelli’s clever costuming, she makes the perfect Belle to Dewey’s Beast.
And what a beast he is—even under decidedly caveman-esque monster makeup, Dewey imbues Monster with an easy devil-may-care charm; a wicked sense of humor; and a soft, endearing underbelly. The crowning jewel of his performance, a Shakespeare recitation performed at Laura’s request, is a breathtaking scene that leaves no doubt in the audiences’ mind what Laura sees in her Monster.
A strange yet intoxicating combination of musical theater, horror, romance, and comedy, Your Monster is a delightfully fluffy debut feature from Lindy, bolstered by a pair of perfectly matched turns from Barrera and Dewey. R, 103 min.
Wide release on VOD
Reader Recommends: FILM & TV
Our critics review the best on the big and small screens and in the media.
Interior Chinatown takes an ambitious, meta approach to satire of racism and police procedurals.
Wicked is a fantastic movie musical epic that hits all the right notes and stays true to its source material.
Alice Maio Mackay’s trans slasher film Carnage for Christmas is a satisfying holiday treat.
A new addition to the Dune franchise gives an intriguing perspective on vengeance, power, and humanity itself.
Payal Kapadia’s latest film finds a refreshing tenderness and subtlety in this story of burgeoning love.
Clint Eastwood’s legal thriller Juror #2 is a compelling moral parable.