Why Your Monster is 2024’s Must-Watch Sleeper Hit

Reel Impressions is The NewsHouse’s weekly film review. Contributors Francesco Desiderio and Travis Newbery cover everything from new releases to trending classics. 

Your Monster (2024) is an adoring and sincere story that hooked me in and didn’t let go until the credits rolled. 

This genre-bending, small indie movie was not on my radar at all, yet is instantly one of my favorites of the year. The story follows a young woman, Laura, who is tragically dumped by her longtime boyfriend while she endures cancer treatment, only for her to meet a monster in her closet and form a deep yet odd relationship. As Laura navigates her post-cancer life and auditions for her ex-boyfriend’s Broadway musical, this film will excite and shock you at every turn. 

It was by total chance and little luck that I saw this film, and a week before its release at that. My local theater was doing a promotion of a $5 mystery movie, and Your Monster was the surprise. When the film began, I was puzzled as to why I could not recognize it. It was only after watching that I learned that it was set to release a week later, but I was still shocked that I had not seen a trailer or even heard the title before I was in my seat to watch it. 

For a film so full of heart and talent, there has been close to zero marketing for it, and that will unfortunately hurt its overall box office profit. The only marketing that I have seen is social media posts made by the cast, and I intentionally went to their pages to look for it. And now, two weeks after the film’s release, I still have not seen a poster, trailer, or mention of it at all. 

Aside from the marketing, I could barely find any negative aspects of Your Monster, though I am slightly biased since it nearly checked every box for my interests. This film is a wonderful horror/rom-com with some great musical and dramatic scenes that truly reminded me of why I love movies and storytelling in the first place. I think having no idea of the content before I saw it play out in front of my eyes made it even more impactful. Each scene, line, character, and song was a total surprise to me and I absolutely loved it. In an age of social media and hyper-awareness, it was refreshing to go into a film totally blind. 

One of the standout aspects of the film is the acting. There are no A-listers or stars, just hardworking and very talented actors that brought their best skills to the table. Main actor Melissa Barrera showed off in a very welcome way, bringing together her fantastic singing voice and her horror movie screams and facial expressions. As soon as I saw her on screen, I knew I was in for an emotional, gut-wrenching acting performance. However, I was utterly blown away by Tommy Dewey, who played the witty, eloquent, and intimidating yet enticing Monster. This was my first introduction to him, but now I will definitely be on the lookout for more of his performances. The way he made the hairy, monstrous character into one of the most likable in the film was truly a delight to watch. 

For such a small film, it also had such attention to detail and great style. The costuming is beautiful and unique, from the regular, everyday outfits to the elegant ball gowns and Broadway costumes. Similarly, the Monster prosthetics are intricately lifelike. I couldn’t tell if it was a mix of CGI and makeup or a pullover mask. However they accomplished it, Dewey is able to deliver an unforgettable performance with it on his face. 

One last aspect that I have to commend is the songwriting and dance choreography. As the film went on, the audience witnessed the development of the in-film musical, so at the end when we get the final result, it feels like we really earned it. The talent and showmanship of Barrera brings it up a level, but it’s very clear that this film employed some very skilled people to write and direct part of a musical within the writing and direction of a film, and I think that deserves a huge congratulations. 

I did not plan to see this film, but I’m so glad I did. It made me feel so many emotions, and when I left the theater I was buzzing with the certain excitement that only comes from watching a really good movie. I walked out of those doors beaming and texting everybody I could to go and watch it. It saddens me how poorly marketed it has been, and since it did not get a wide release, it’s not performing well at the box office. I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good multi-genre, well-acted, and soulful movie. I hope it will surprise you just as it surprised me.

Watch the trailer for Your Monster here!: