Chatter Box Film

This is a review for Vertical’s 2024 horror/Romance movie Your Monster; which stars Scream actress Melissa Barrera.

The movie follows Laura (Melissa Barrera); a theatre actress who is battling cancer. While she’s undergoing treatment, her boyfriend Jacob (Edmund Donovan) breaks up with her because he can’t handle the situation.

Laura falls into a deep depression, but her life changes when a monster (Tommy Dewey) suddenly appears in her house. They form an unexpected bond, but it raises the question: could this lead Laura down a darker path?

Your Monster is a clever film with great visuals and some good costumes and outfits. Melissa Barrera and Tommy Dewey give fantastic performances, showcasing a wide range of emotions.

They can be funny at times, but switch to more serious acting, portraying pain, anger and more tense emotions. Their chemistry is fantastic, and they play off each other well.

The monster brings a lot of humour to the story, and as he gets to know Laura, their banter becomes a highlight.

A big focus of the film is the world of acting and theatre, which adds a unique and interesting element to the story. It explores the realistic process of putting on a show from writing the script to the audition process, which I enjoyed.

One clever aspect of the film is how Laura and the Monster help each other in different ways. Laura is kind and forgiving, trying to teach the Monster the difference between right and wrong.

Meanwhile, the Monster, with his darker side, encourages Laura to stand up for herself, not let others push her around and embrace her inner darkness. This contrast makes for a compelling story, as both characters push each other to grow and change. Jacob, Laura’s boyfriend, is a very unlikeable character. Just when you think he might become more sympathetic, he doesn’t. The film does a great job of making the audience feel shocked by his actions and behaviour.

I was lucky enough to speak with Edmund Donovan and Kayla Foster (Mazie) in an interview for this film. Edmund shared that he connected with his character by looking beyond the character’s flaws, focusing instead on his drive and passion to advance his career, refusing to let anything or anyone stand in his way. Kayla, who not only stars as one of the leads but also took on the role of producer, described the experience as both  hard and challenging. However, she loved that it was a challenge.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed the film overall, but I was a little disappointed with the ending and how Laura’s character turned out. It felt like it ruined her character arc a little bit, though I could still understand where she was coming from and relate to her.

I also wish the film had given more background on how the Monster came to be and why Laura seemed to forget about him. This part of the story felt rushed. The ending was also a bit abrupt, and I would have liked to see more about what happened to the characters after the final events.

Your Monster is a good film that has great songs and blends numerous genres. Your Monster is one not to be missed!

This film releases in the UK, on November 29, 2024.

For more comedy-horror movie recommendations, check out these ‘14 funny and spooky comedy-horror films from the 1980s‘.