Caroline Lindy’s new film Your Monster opens with an ominous title card. It reads based on a true-ish story. The next two hours of the film are packed to the brim with sadness and heartache wrapped up in a fantastical Beauty and the Beast-style story. Her film is a quasi-romantic comedy but the true story behind the film reveals a deeper layer of self-love.

Your Monster is a frustrating watch at times. It’s part romantic comedy, part sick girl tragedy, and part revenge fantasy. All of these elements wrap up in a way that will be either satisfying or perplexing for the average audience member. It’s not exactly the romantic comedy it portrays itself to be and it’s by far the horror-adjacent film fans likely want. Instead, Lindy has created a film that’s personal and fantastical all at once.

Monsters and Tragedies

The film begins with Laura Franco played by horror darling Melissa Barrera, losing the love of her life amidst a cancer diagnosis. Your Monster wastes no time in setting up the one-note Jacob, Laura’s ex-boyfriend. He is a playwright who quickly dumps the sick Franco, rescinds her musical role, and continuously flirts with whomever starlet he finds prettiest. Jacob is the antithesis of evil with zero redeeming qualities throughout the film. He is a deeply flawed villain played to slimy perfection by Edmund Donovan.

Throughout her trauma, Laura learns another inconvenient truth. The monster under her bed is real and is quite annoyed that Laura has returned home. Your Monster sets up a sitcom-style premise with Laura and Monster fighting over thermostats and vacuuming. The film then quickly abandons this premise to move straight into a romantic comedy.

Chemistry With Your Monster

The film’s saving grace is the electric chemistry between Melissa Barrera and Tommy Dewey as Monster. Dewey in particular has some impeccable comedic timing with his banter and charm feeling believable despite his extensive prosthetic makeup. Naturally, Laura eventually falls for Monster and it’s here that the movie begins to lose the plot.

Your Monster wants to be both a romantic comedy and a film about finding your inner monster. These themes get muddied as Laura learns to love Monster while simultaneously becoming one herself. There is a deep-seated and justifiable rage burning inside Laura and Monster is the only one who can help her get it out. This theme is strong enough to carry the plot, but it makes the romance feel like a B plot. The larger theme of loving yourself and embracing your monster gets muddled behind cute montages and awkward sex scenes.

The Personal Music Numbers

Your Monster isn’t a musical in the traditional sense but the film is filled with musical elements. The play written by evil ex Jacob is a musical about women learning to be angry. It’s very meta in the context of the film and ends up being more of an eye roll than an aha moment. Lindy beats the audience over the head at times with her irredeemable villains and backstabbing friends, but the music in the film is a highlight. Adding an extra layer of fun and fantasy to the production.

Frankly, the film could have benefited from a stronger emphasis on music. Barrera showed off her pipes in the Lin Manuel Miranda penned In The Heights and she delivers more incredible numbers here. Had the film leaned harder into the musical elements rather than the love story, it’s possible the movie could have felt more like a female empowerment tale than an odd love story.

A Love For Horror

One of the highlights of Your Monster is the similies Caroline Lindy brings to beloved horror films. Laura reads Frankenstein, weeping over the monster, and even dresses up as Frankenstein’s Bride for Halloween. The set design and costuming are minimal throughout, but there are key moments where it really shines.

The musical centered within the plot is also quite good. We only get a glimpse of a few musical numbers before the film’s finale but they are all catchy and fun. The final mic drop moment of the film is a spectacular twist that realizes the film’s major themes and is made even better by Barrera’s one-woman performance.

Your Monster vs Lisa Frankenstein

It’s quite odd for this movie to come the same year as another film with an eerily similar premise. Lisa Frankenstein released earlier this year with more or less the same plot as this film but Your Monster is leagues above that movie. Where Lisa Frankenstein leaned hard into camp, Your Monster is a personal tale told with fantastical elements.

While not everything in the movie works, Your Monster is a surprisingly component women scorned movie. Laura Franco is mad as hell and has every right to be. The villains in this film are disgusting and it’s the monster inside of her who gets the final laugh. The movie works much better with this framing in mind than that of a romantic comedy and while it still may not be everyone’s cup of tea, the chemistry and jokes are enough to elevate it above standard rom-com horror.