Lupita Nyong’o is certainly no stranger to South by Southwest Conference and Festivals (SXSW) this year, with two film screenings in one weekend, both falling under the horror genre. Jordan Peele’s Us had its world premiere on Friday night while Abe Forsythe’s Little Monsters screened the following day. Although Us had tremendous buzz, and rightfully so, Little Monsters deserves its own spotlight as well.
The film follows a washed-up musician named Dave (Alexander England, Alien: Covenant) who crashes on his sister’s couch following a nasty break-up. His sister (Kat Stewart, Offspring) is a single mom of a kindergartner named Felix (Diesel La Torraca) whose class happens to be in need of a chaperone for a field trip. Although Dave is wildly inappropriate and hardly one to be depended on (the term man-child is applicable here), he signs on to get in the good graces of Felix’s beautiful teacher, Miss Caroline (Nyong’o). Unfortunately for everyone, their destination, Pleasant Valley Farm (a petting zoo and putt-putt golf course), happens to be right next door to a U.S. Army testing facility that has a major zombie outbreak. It is up to Dave and Miss Caroline to save the kindergartner class from zombies while dealing with a self-absorbed, sociopathic children’s TV show host, Teddy McGiggle (Josh Gad, Frozen’s Olaf), before the Army brings in the big guns.
One common theme throughout Little Monsters is the contrast of bright to dark. Examples of this can be seen in the lead characters, Dave and Miss Caroline, as they are like night and day, both in personality and wardrobe. Also, having a testing facility filled with blood-lusting zombies located next door to an adorable petting zoo is a humorous combination. The contrast adds so much to the film’s humor and story, and is very well-utilized, even with smaller details.
The performances by the lead cast are nothing short of fantastic, with Alexander England and Josh Gad delivering perfectly offensive comedy and Luptia Nyong’o being the world’s sunniest bad ass. But, let’s not forget that they are sharing screen-time with kindergarten-aged children. A few of the kids had prominent roles alongside Felix, and the group as a whole never felt like an after-thought. During the SXSW Q&A, director Abe Forsythe mentioned that the kids were introduced to Nyong’o in character as Miss Caroline, and it seems that approach worked at making the kids more comfortable on-screen. Young Diesel La Torraca delivered suburb comedy and stole the show more than once, which is not easy as he’s next to seasoned adult actors.
When you look past the zombies and gore, the film feels like a love letter to teachers who take their job as an educator and protector seriously. It was also inspired by Forsythe’s real-life experiences as a dad of a son who faces challenges such as food allergies, which Felix also faces. It is about the transition of letting our young ones go into the world and having to trust other adults with their care. So, while it is a zombie film, make no mistake that there is a whole lot of heart mixed in.
This truly is a black comedy, so expect more laughs than scares, with comparable films being Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010). Fans of the sub-genre will find so much to love with Little Monsters. This is one of the best black comedies we have seen in years, and it just gives us yet another reason to fall in love with Luptia Nyong’o.
Little Monsters had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2019 and was acquired shortly after by Neon, in partnership with Hulu.
Check out all of our SXSW coverage here!
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