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.

‘Beauty and the Beast’ has had many retellings over the year, indeed the Disney classic in itself is a retelling of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s classic dark fairytale. ‘Your Monster’ is a modern take on the story, framing the beast as a kind of mentor to a troubled young actress who is struggling to come to terms with a recent breakup, as well as a cancer diagnosis. She is Laura, played by Melissa Barrera, and we first meet her as she moves back into her childhood home while she sorts things out. Retreating into herself, she opens up her wardrobe and unleashes the Monster (Tommy Dewey), who may have the same scary physical looks as in the classic tale, but is actually quite a witty and sarcastic companion, who encourages Laura to put herself back out into the world (that is after initially demanding she leave!).

A lot of the story revolves around the theatre, where Laura’s ex Jacob (Edmund Donovan) is preparing to put on the play he had been developing with her when they were still together. Laura manages to convince him to cast her as the understudy to the part that was originally written for her, but being close to Jacob again and learning about who he’d been having an affair with stirs up emotions and draws the Monster to intervene directly in her life with significant consequences. If you know ‘Beauty and the Beast’ as most folks do, you’ll be familiar with the beats of the story, and the pleasant surprise with ‘Your Monster’ is that it both hues closely to its origins while also not being afraid to be bold and different, and that makes this a more enjoyable movie.

‘Your Monster’ is a funny, sharp and different take on this classic story, with good performances from Melissa Barrera and Tommy Dewey in particular, and if you’re looking for something slightly different, this is worth a watch.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Caroline Lindy

Starring: Melissa Barrera, Tommy Dewey, Edmund Donovan, Kayla Foster and Meghann Fahy

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt22741760/