2024’s Most Underseen Horror Rom-Com Is The Feel-Good Movie We Need Right Now
Feminine rage takes on a new form in Your Monster.
Laura (Melissa Barrera) is having a horrible year. The soft-spoken actress has big dreams, most of which involve her boyfriend Jacob (Edmund Donovan), a theatre director, and promises of Broadway stardom. But all that seems to go out the window when Laura receives a cancer diagnosis out of nowhere — and, in similar fashion, Jacob suddenly decides to dump her. Laura recovers from the former, but her boyfriend’s departure still leaves her a total wreck.
Throughout the first act of Your Monster, Caroline Lindy’s semi-autobiographical debut feature, Laura’s holed up in her childhood home, replaying the entirety of her relationship in her head and ordering copious boxes of tissue on Amazon. She tries to forget about Jacob, but healing gets harder with the revelation that her ex is about to debut a new musical... and looking to cast someone other than her in the lead role. It’s hell for her, but Laura’s downward spiral is just as frustrating for the roommate she doesn’t even realize she has: the Monster (Tommy Dewey) who once lived under her bed and/or in her closet.
Your Monster is a difficult film to define. At first glance it’s a modern twist on Beauty and the Beast, as Laura and her monster adjust to an inconvenient living situation. She can’t believe he’s still around, much less real; he can’t believe he no longer has the house to himself. Neither are the greatest roommates, either — Laura is far too busy moping to clean up after herself, while Monster makes it his mission to get her back out into the world as soon as possible. When lurking in dark corners and delivering the odd jump scare fails to motivate Laura, Monster tries a different approach. It’s time she confronted her boyfriend about his abhorrent bedside manner, and reclaim the role that’s rightfully hers.
Laura auditions for Jacob’s new musical, and once she gets a role (as understudy to the character she helped develop), Monster trains her to stand up for herself. He leads Laura on a cathartic journey of self-determination, teaching her how to access all the hidden anger she’s suppressed. As they strike up an unlikely friendship — and the chemistry between them becomes increasingly undeniable — Your Monster evolves into an exercise in acceptance and feminine rage. Laura’s journey becomes part musical, part romantic dark comedy... and that’s all before Lindy introduces elements of off-kilter horror, allowing Barrera to flex a familiar muscle.
Your Monster may seem like a rom-com on the surface, but it doubles as a story of self-love.
The closer the duo gets, the more the lines blur between reality and metaphor. Is Monster even real, or just a stand-in for Laura’s darker instincts? Lindy’s script leaves that reading up to interpretation — but with Dewey’s smoldering performance, you may find yourself wishing for the former. Monster is a brilliant showcase for the actor: He’s at once the long-suffering, pragmatic rom-com lead and the devil on Laura’s shoulder, dangerous and disarming in equal measure. He plays brilliantly off Barrera’s Laura, especially once she begins to come into her own and find her voice again.
Your Monster is at its best when Barrera and Dewey share the screen. Those who aren’t partial to musicals, or the backstage drama that comes with them, may struggle with Lindy’s other focus. But it’s all a part of her heroine’s journey, and for the most part, Your Monster manages to balance all its disparate tones. It’s not every day that someone like Barrera — an actress who’s conquered both musicals and horror films — finds a way to combine two wildly different genres. But with a brilliant co-star and a script that doesn’t take itself too seriously, Lindy and Barrera deliver a tale of self-love that’s not so easily forgotten.
