The Big Picture

Melissa Barrera shines in the first footage from
Your Monster
.
The film blends comedy, horror, and musical theater, focusing on accepting and embracing feelings, particularly rage.
Barrera is set for success with upcoming projects like T
he Collaboration
, showcasing her love for the craft.

Melissa Barrera is insanely relatable in the first teaser for Your Monster, as a person lost in the dark depths of grieving the end of a romantic relationship. Collider is proud to nab the exclusive first look at this one, which will coincide with the first ever live installment of Perri Nemiroff’s Ladies Night happening now at San Diego Comic-Con. The project is close to Barrera’s heart as it helped shape her mentality about how she’ll pick and choose work in the future, something she opened up about during her visit to Ladies Night back in March 2023 during which she also gave Nemiroff Your Monster’s official scoop, unveiling the previously unannounced production. Now, more than a year later, and after the movie’s world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, we’re thrilled to give our readers the first look at Your Monster.

We’ve all been there. Down, out, depressed, and miserable following a breakup that we didn’t see coming. That’s precisely what Barrera’s character, Laura, is going through in Collider’s exclusive sneak peek of Your Monster. Her world is over and, even worse, her friends are all tired of hearing her wails of misery. But, all that’s about to change for Laura when – on a dark and stormy night – she discovers that a friendly and chill monster has taken up residency inside her closet.

Blending comedy with horror and a dab of musical theater to really make things interesting, at its big monstrous heart, Caroline Lindy’s feature-length directorial debut is really all about becoming comfortable with feeling your feelings—particularly rage. When it comes to the main character, she’s feeling extra rageful after her boyfriend (Edmund Donovan) breaks up with her shortly after she receives a devastating cancer diagnosis. It’s then that Laura moves back home and stumbles upon the charming Monster (Tommy Dewey) who helps her reclaim her life.

‘Your Monster’ Carries Melissa Barrera Into The Next Stage Of Her Career

Barrera was already an established actress in Mexico by the time she broke into Hollywood through her performances on Starz’s series Vida and the big-screen adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights. But she rocketed to another planet entirely through her performance as Sam Carpenter in the rebooted Scream franchise for the fifth and sixth installments. However, last fall, when Barrera was let go from her partnership with Spyglass Media following pro-Palestinian posts on her social media, her outlook on the industry completely changed.

And, obviously, while we’ll miss her in the upcoming Scream 7, there’s nothing but blue skies ahead for the ever-growing star. Along with Your Monster and Abigail, the latter of which was released earlier this year, the actress is also prepping for the arrival of Kwame Kwei-Armah’s directorial debut, The Collaboration, which will tell the true story of the unexpected friendship between iconic artists Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol. It’s projects like this one that make Barrera’s heart sing and allow her to return to the joys of the craft that she loves so dearly.

Check out the debut footage of Your Monster in the player above and stay tuned to Collider for more to come from SDCC. Your Monster arrives in cinemas in the U.S. on October 25.

Your Monster After her life falls apart, soft-spoken actress Laura Franco finds her voice again when she meets a terrifying, yet weirdly charming Monster living in her closet. A romantic-comedy-horror film about falling in love with your inner rage.Release Date January 18, 2024 Director Caroline Lindy Runtime 98 minutes Writers Caroline Lindy Expand