Melissa Barrera’s career has progressed steadily since her initial role in Jon M. Chu’s In the Heights and has risen to popularity after appearing in the fifth Scream. Earlier this year, she starred in Abigail, where she gave an amazing performance, and with each film Melissa Barrera takes part in, she only gets better and better at her job. She’s had her hand at musicals and has also participated in her fair share of horror, but now she stars in Your Monster, a film that seamlessly blends the two genres, making it the perfect film for Barrera and providing her with her best performance yet.
Your Monster follows Laura Franco (Melissa Barrera), a young aspiring actress who is currently going through a cancer diagnosis and recent breakup with her ex-boyfriend, Jacob (Edmund Donovan). After being abandoned by her boyfriend of four years after he can’t deal with her cancer diagnosis, Laura discovers that there’s a terrifying but oddly charming Monster (Tommy Dewey) living in her closet, and he doesn’t seem to be happy with their living arrangements.
As mentioned previously, Your Monster perfectly blends two worlds that Melissa Barrera is already so familiar with; it takes the musical aspect and subtly uses it as Jacob prepares for his debut in theatre, a production in which he developed mostly with Laura during their time together. There are several scenes in which we witness Laura practicing some of the production’s songs, as well as scenes in which we see all of the cast during rehearsals, but that is all we get in terms of singing in this film, aside from some other small moments with Monster and the final act, which goes all out with the musical side of the film.
The set design is phenomenal, and the cinematography is one to admire when we get beautiful dance sequences between Laura and Monster or even when we get to focus on the actual theatre production. These scenes are minimal, so it only becomes a delight when we get to see them and all the hard work that gets put into them. Your Monster never truly goes for the full musical route like In the Heights, but it does touch on it ever so slightly and handles it incredibly well.
Just like with the musical aspect of the film, the horror aspect isn’t touched on all that much; it is once again minimal, but at the same time it’s substantial. Your Monster plays around with the idea of the character Monster, showcasing what he’s capable of with flickering lights and just outright terrifying Laura at the start of the film. It isn’t true horror that will get you scared and make you have nightmares, but it makes fun of a lot of tropes that you may find in a children’s horror story, such as a monster hiding in your closet or a monster hiding under your bed.
Your Monster makes great use of these tropes for their comedic effect, and Caroline Lindy executes them without fail as every joke related to Monster and his behavioural habits lands every single time. This may upset some viewers initially, but Caroline Lindy isn’t trying to create a film that scares people; she’s using horror effectively and mirroring it with reality, making the tragedies that Laura goes through hard to watch, but it all becomes worth it in the third act for an ending that is one of the best endings I’ve seen this year so far.
At its core, Your Monster is a very good romantic comedy, but while it is about the growing relationship between Laura and Monster, it’s also about self-love, finding it, and truly embracing it. Caroline Lindy wanted to exhibit women’s inner rage with this film, and she nails it on the head with how Laura is portrayed and the trials and tribulations that she’s made to go through, which test her at every step.
Many films make attempts at depicting feminine rage but either fail at getting their point across or show it from a very violent stance. Your Monster takes the simple approach of creating a love story that heavily takes from Beauty and the Beast and hides Monster as this self-embodied version of herself. The final act is where the film truly shows its true colours, and while it might not take it to extreme violent measures such as films like Pearl, it takes a more performative, expressive, and creative route to display that raw feminine rage within Laura.
Overall, Caroline Lindy blends music and horror in Your Monster brilliantly to help showcase a deeper exploration of Feminine Rage, while using the charming Monster as a reflection of Laura’s struggles. Melissa Barrera delivers her best performance yet as she balances the struggles of life and love with Laura. Your Monster isn’t just your average romantic comedy, it’s a heartwarming journey about self discovery and empowerment, making it a must-see.
Your Monster releases in theatres on October 25
