If the chill in the air has you ready for the spooky season, but you’re not ready to dive into the full horror experience quite yet? A new film written and directed by Caroline Lindy might be the perfect way to dip your toes into the Halloween spirit. The movie Your Monster brings together some unlikely genres in one feisty little package, but is this scrappy little film worth your time?

The Plot

Your Monster describes itself as a “romantic-comedy-horror” film about a young actress in New York City. After a tragic series of events, she is rescued from trauma and heartbreak by a new, and unusual, friend. A fearsome, and strangely charming, monster emerges from her childhood bedroom clothes and takes her on a journey of self-realization, catharsis, and good old-fashioned revenge.

Laura and the Beast

From the marketing, you could be forgiven for assuming that Your Monster is some derivative of Beauty and the Beast. I even caught myself noticing design similarities to Ron Perlman’s Beauty and the Beast television show (1987) in Monster. Luckily, writer/director Caroline Lindy did not go that route because, as a friend of mine enthusiastically pointed out, this movie is not what you expect. 

The Unexpected

This movie ticks quite a few boxes, mostly in exactly the way you think it will. Occasionally, though, Your Monster manages to surprise you. For instance, I was not expecting a 20-something’s closet Monster to be a fan of Rodgers and Hammerstein or have Shakespeare’s sonnets committed to memory (though, he is living in a brownstone on the east side of Manhattan, so maybe I should have). 

Shifting Gears 

As you might expect from a movie attempting to squish so many genres together, Your Monster has a rather inconsistent nature. The movie begins in an intentionally disorienting place, as we see rapid-fire jump cuts of soft-spoken actress Laura Franco’s life falling apart. A cancer diagnosis and a devastating breakup punctuate these early moments, but the confusion doesn’t last long.

Your Monster abruptly shifts gears (it does this several times) and we see Laura’s life as she wallows in her trauma. Another gear shift and we are in an Odd Couple style comedy. Cut to an enemies-to-lovers romance, a painful betrayal, and a whiplash-inducing turn at the very end. 

With all these changes in tone, it could easily become confusing, or feel like a gimmick, but Your Monster manages to avoid this pitfall. Instead, these gear shifts work to keep the story interesting and the viewer engaged. The film’s quick pace also works to keep each chapter from overstaying its welcome, as we are allowed to skip merrily through Laura’s stages of grief rather than dwell on any one emotion for too long.

The Problems

As always, there are some problems with Your Monster. While the acting is generally fantastic, with Melissa Barrera giving an incredibly vulnerable performance and Edmund Donovan playing one of the most believable dirtbags I’ve ever seen, I did find myself wanting Tommy Dewey to go a bit bigger with the titular Monster. It can also lean a bit too far in the romantic comedy direction, which feels like a safe decision to me. As I alluded to before, there is a big reveal at the very end that takes an extremely dark turn, and I wanted to see a bit more of that from Your Monster.

All in all, Your Monster is a fun and easy stroll through the drama that comes with life as a NYC stage actor. I think current actors and former theater kids will get an extra tickle out of it. I don’t think I would say this requires a theater viewing, but it is definitely something worth checking out if anything in this review has sounded fun.