Writer and director Caroline Lindy makes her feature film directorial debut with 2024 Your monsteran original project that mixes horror, comedy and romance. The genre-defying film follows a young aspiring actress named Laura Franco, whose recent injury derails her Broadway dreams and whose heart is shattered after her boyfriend breaks up with her while she is in the hospital and goes on to perform in a play they worked on. . together. In the midst of her pain, she discovers a monster living in her closet with a mission to teach her self-love.
Lindy’s cast is one of the Your monsterthe strengths of, largely thanks to protagonist Melissa Barrera (Scream & Scream VI) portraying vulnerability and repressed anger in equal measure as Laura. Tommy Dewey (who recently brought Michael O’Donoghue to the big screen in Saturday night) is also a revelation like Monster, while The White Lotus star Meghann Fahy and Civil WarEdmund Donovan completes the cast. By combining romance and horror tropes with top-notch acting and fantasy visuals, Your monster tells a captivating story about inner demons and self-esteem.
TelaRant interviewed Barrera and Dewey about how they connected with their characters in Your monsterwhat the prosthetics did for the film and which scenes stood out most in their minds.
Melissa Barrera compares her character in Her Monster to the sorrows of her own industry
“I am very familiar with this feeling of deep despair; literally wanting to give up on life.”
Screen Speech: Your monster is an original film that explores themes of inner anger, self-love and empowerment in such a creative and beautiful way. Brilliant work. Melissa, how did you personally connect with Laura Franco’s journey, especially her experience of heartbreak and self-discovery amidst such challenging circumstances?
Melissa Barrera: I mean, I’ve had my fair share of heartbreak. It’s been a while since I’ve had heartbreak in a romantic sense because I’ve been with my husband for a long time, but there are other ways to get yours [heart broken] – especially in this industry. So I’m very familiar with this feeling of deep despair; literally wanting to give up on life.
But it was also really easy for me to connect with Laura because I’m also a musical theater nerd. It’s also my dream to be on Broadway, and literally one of the first lines in the script, Laura says it’s her dream when Jacob offers her the role. She’s like, “This has been my dream for a long time.” And then immediately I thought, “I know who this person is.”
Tommy Dewey let prosthetics talk to his monster
“It’s really just a connection, ironically, on a human level with Melissa.”
Screen Rant: Tommy, Monster serves as the catalyst for Laura’s transformation. Can you share your approach to bringing charm and depth to such an intriguing role? And can you talk about the challenges of conveying emotions through makeup and prosthetics?
Tommy Dewey: I think the key to Monster, and I’ve said this before, was to not play Monster. This amazing prosthetic – kudos to Dave Anderson and his team for this – does a lot of the work for you. So it’s really just connecting, ironically, on a human level with Melissa and rolling up your sleeves and getting into the acting work to develop that chemistry.
I think to get really nerdy and actorly, if Monster is doing an action, it’s to heal her. Sometimes this is tough love; sometimes that’s crying with her – whatever that is.
I have to say I was a little nervous about being expressive enough, but this apparatus is amazing. It matches every crow’s foot, every wrinkle. I mean, it’s so in tune. If I move, he moves, and it’s so nice not to bring his vanity into the picture. I’m going to accept being a vain person and being able to say, “I don’t look so good today. I look like a monster…” That self-awareness that you bring to work sometimes just isn’t there, and what a great place to perform.
Its monstrous stars were competing with the Superbowl chaos in one of its most memorable scenes
“There were a lot of elements that were working against us at that time.”
Screen Rant: Can you two talk about the dynamic between Laura and Monster and how it evolved throughout the film? Were there any scenes that were particularly challenging or rewarding to film together?
Melissa Barrera: Oh my God, that one. That long scene after the Halloween party in the park; that was a long scene. It was negative by a few degrees Celsius. I don’t know what Fahrenheit would be.
Tommy Dewey: It was negative on both scales.
Melissa Barrera: Negative on both scales. It was freezing. It was raining! We didn’t know we had a certain amount of time because of park permits or anything like that. A football game took place…
Tommy Dewey: It’s the Super Bowl that’s over! Lots of people were coming out of bars, recognizing Melissa and saying, “Hey!” And then to see her standing next to me and my Monster, thinking, “What are you two doing on the corner in Hoboken at this time of night?”
I’m interrupting you, but we thought we were getting into traditional coverage, so we thought, “Hey, we’re just doing this feature, but we’ll get it…” And then at some point, Carolina [Lindy]It’s like, “This is the shot. We live or die by this shot.” I think we have two complete [takes].
Melissa Barrera: Yes, that was it. It was a lot of pressure. There were many elements that were working against us at that time. Plus, Dave said, “We don’t know if his face is going to fall off from the rain, so let’s go!” It was crazy. It was very stressful, but I think it worked out in the end.
Tommy Dewey: I was melting!
And then all the things in the house, all those… I’m abusing this metaphor, but that thing about the tennis match between the two of us in that house? I wouldn’t call it challenging, but it was just a delight. To show up and meet Melissa, and find out that she’s willing to do this kind of work, that’s why you do this show. That was really fantastic.
More About Your Monster (2024)
Your Monster tells the story of soft-spoken actress Laura Franco (Melissa Barrera), who is abandoned by her longtime boyfriend (Edmund Donovan) while recovering from 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 performing in a musical she helped him develop. But out of these harrowing changes in her life comes a monster (Tommy Dewey) with whom she finds a connection, encouraging Laura to follow her dreams, open her heart, and fall in love with her inner rage.
Check out our previous interviews with Melissa Barrera here:
Source: Screen Rant Plus