Little Monsters (2019)

Streaming Service: Hulu

Movie Name/Year: Little Monsters (2019)

Genre: Comedy, Horror

Length: 93 minutes

Rating: R

Production/Distribution: Made Up Stories, Protagonist Pictures, Snoot Entertainment, Altitude Films, Culture Publishers, Neon, Splendid Film, VVS Films, Front Row Filmed Entertainment, Hulu, Loona Film, Lumix Media

Director: Abe Forsythe

Writer: Abe Forsythe

Actors: Lupita Nyong’o, Alexander England, Josh Gad, Kat Stewart, Diesel la Torraca, Nadia Townsend, Marshall Napier, Glenn Hazeldine, Ava Caryofyllis, Charlie Whitley, Mason Mansour, Kim Doan, Wolfgang Gledhill, Caliah Pinones, Jack Schuback, Vivienne Albany, Shia Hamby, Ashton Arokiaswamy, Gareth Davies, Jason Chong, Alan Dukes, Felix Williamson, Rahel Romahn, Stephen Peacocke, Lincoln Younes

Blurb from IMDb: A washed-up musician teams up with a teacher and a kids show personality to protect young children from a sudden outbreak of zombies.

Selina’s Point of View:

I remember the month that this film came out, I didn’t get my hands on the trailer in time for the Top 20 to be written. I was pretty upset because the trailer looked great, and I was certain it would have been in my top 10.

It absolutely should have been. The movie was hilarious.

I’ll admit, it had its faults. I wasn’t a fan of the beginning. The script tried so hard to paint the main character as a low life that made him distinctly unlikeable. I really feel that part could have been done better. It did so much to make the main character obnoxious that I still didn’t think he deserved a win by the end of it.

I’m also insanely sick of the asshole child entertainer trope. You know the one I’m talking about. 

You have a Barney or Wiggles type of character that’s a huge success in child entertainment, but the moment the cameras turn off they turn into a total dick. They usually have some kind of substance abuse problem, they hate kids, and they have no filter between their brain and mouth. In horror circumstances, they also tend to be cowards. It is SUCH an overused trope. I hate it.

Still, even with the issues, I really enjoyed Little Monsters. I was laughing throughout the majority of it and Lupita Nyong’o (Black Panther, Us, Queen of Katwe) is a goddess. Her character is impossible to look away from and actually has some decent depth. SHE should have been the main character. I did not need the underlying love story.

I think a lot of parents are feeling the way Nyong’o’s character in this film was. Some terrible shit is happening out there and we’re all just trying to make life as normal and calm as possible for our kids. We’re scared inside and trying to remain fully composed on the outside. It makes the film much more relatable than a lot of other zombie movies.

Little Monsters was a newer take on this kind of story. It wasn’t perfect, but I really do recommend it to fans of the zombie genre.

Cat’s Point of View:

When I saw that we were set to review Little Monsters, I was scratching my head a bit because the first thing that came to mind was the 1989 movie. I hadn’t realized (or I’d forgotten) that there was a new movie that had shared the name.

Kudos to the marketing team for this film. The poster is perfect for setting up the right expectations for the movie.

I’m generally down to watch any movie that Lupita Nyong'o is in. She’s absolutely phenomenal, so I was instantly interested in seeing where this film would take me. It started off a little rocky with the first few moments – my blood pressure rose a little, but once it got past that section everything was smooth sailing.

Comedy horrors tend to be my favorite of the horror genre. It’s this amazing combination of hilarity and OMG that, when in the right balance, makes for a memorable experience you would want to revisit again and again.

If someone told you that there was going to be a movie about a zombie outbreak during a kindergarten field trip – your first thought would generally be that the film would be full of horrific scenes that might leave you with a lingering disturbed feeling even after the credits have rolled. The way that this movie was handled was finessed so well that it not only avoided traumatizing its audience, but I would almost refer to this film as a ‘what you need to do if you have kids caught up in a zombie apocalypse’ guide.

I’m not kidding. Brilliance.

Then you add the bumbling guy, played by Alexander England (Gods of Egypt, Down Under, Alien: Covenant), who has a significant growth arc through the film, and Josh Gad (Beauty and the Beast, Murder on the Orient Express, Frozen II) channeling the innocence of Olaf one minute and then the putz character from Avenue 5 (2020-) the next.

This movie was both wholesome and horrifying, and I absolutely loved it. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this one, and I’m looking forward to watching it again soon.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 80%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 100%

Metascore – 59/100

Metacritic User Score – 6.0/10

IMDB Score – 6.3/10

CinemaScore – None

Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 4/5

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4.5/5

Movie Trailer: