YOUR MONSTER is a new movie that just slid onto the Max lineup. Naturally, we wanted to draw your attention to it as it is an unexpected title. It comes from the global distributor Vertical (I’m unsure if they struck a deal with HBO/Max as A24 has done) and was created by Bombo Sports and Entertainment and Merman Films. It is billed as a romantic comedy-horror sort of thing and was written and directed by Caroline Lindy, based on her own short film.
It tells the story of the soft-spoken actor Laura Franco (Melissa Barrera, from Mexican television and the In The Heights movie), who is dumped by her longtime boyfriend Jacob Sullivan (Edmund Donovan, from Civil War and HBO’s BETTY) while recovering from cancer surgery and retreats to her childhood home to recover. With her future looking bleak, insult is added to injury when Laura discovers her ex is staging a musical that she helped him develop. But out of these gut-wrenching life changes emerges a monster (Tommy Dewey from Saturday Night and Hulu’s Casual) with whom she finds a connection, encouraging Laura to follow her dreams, open her heart, and fall in love with her inner rage. That rage surfaces when the monster convinces her to show up at auditions for Jacob’s show. She is refused the lead which is given to rival Jackie (Meghann Fahy, from Season 2 of THE WHITE LOTUS). Can Laura control her inner rage or will she let it roar?
The movie did get a theatrical release late last year but is making a big global hit now including on HBO/Max. One positive review from the Observer U. K. says, “Caroline Lindy’s feature debut is a droll if uneven blend of comedy, romance, fantasy and horror that relies heavily on the off-the-charts chemistry between Barrera and Dewey, who manages to convince as a charismatic romantic lead.” However, Cinemalogue stated, “Combining elements of romantic comedy, revenge thriller, and horror fantasy, this wildly uneven empowerment saga doesn’t know what it wants to be, when it wants to begin and end, and where moviegoers can latch on.”
Well, one thing I’d latch onto is the notion of whether the monster is real or imaginary. You can only come to a conclusion if you watch YOUR MONSTER debuting on HBO on SATURDAY, JANUARY 25 and the day prior on Max.
