We sat down with the cast and crew of Your Monster to discuss the romantic-comedy.
Four years after releasing the short film Your Monster, Caroline Lindy is bringing it to the big screen this holiday season. Your Monster is a multi-genre story about a woman attempting to overcome life and love while speaking to a monster in her closet. We sat down with writer/director Caroline Lindy and the film’s stars, Melissa Barerra, Tommy Dewey, Edmund Donovan, and Kayla Foster.
Your Monster is a breath of fresh air in the rom-com space that doesn’t follow the same typical tropes we are used to seeing. Lindy’s script is refreshing, and her attention to detail in developing Laura (Barrera) allows audiences to relate to her arc while also rooting for her. Barrera, who acts, sings, and dances her way into our hearts, continues to show she is a bonafide star. Her chemistry with co-star Tommy Dewey, who plays the Monster, is magnificent. Your Monster is fantastic and the perfect date night movie.
The Cast and Crew of Your Monster talk about bringing the horror rom-com to life.
FandomWire: Melissa, Caroline Lindy’s script is perfection. What were your initial thoughts upon reading it?
Melissa Barerra: I loved it. I couldn’t believe that this movie existed as a horror lover, rom-com enthusiast, and musical theater nerd. I was like, I can’t believe that someone made this movie. I was just happy that it landed in my inbox and that I got the opportunity to make it. Then, to meet with her about it and get to do it because it was a dream role, literally.
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FW: There’s a specific charm to the “monster,” whether it’s the body language or facial expressions, that makes him lovable and even relatable. How did you find ways to capture this even within this quote and quote monster?
Tommy Dewey: It’s a great question. The prosthetic works incredibly well. We’re dealing with top-of-the-line hardware, so any kind of movement in my face matches the mood. There was the most accurate 3d rendering of my mug that you could imagine. The mask was designed on top of that. So that was a relief knowing that I could, and the camera would see it, the Monster. Melissa and I got along really well on day one, and whatever comes across is just me playing that character, trying to charm her or heal her or make her laugh.
You could argue either side of that, but really, this character exists in service of Laura. So how can he help her today, work on her, take the edge off, or employ some tough love to get her out the door? And this lady makes that job easy.
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FW: Your script is incredible because it balances a wide variety of genres within three totally different acts. How did you find that balance when ironing out the script?
Caroline Lindy: You know, I think I always just went back to playing at the truth of the characters’ emotional journeys. I always say that the experience with which the movie is based wasn’t a one-genre experience, so the movie couldn’t be one genre.
And so I just kind of moved, I used emotion as my north star. So what is the character feeling here, and how is that reflected in her, you know, surrounding environment? And that really helped. And it, it, even if the world became absurd and ridiculous. If you keep things authentic and emotionally grounded, it, I felt like, you know, you could do whatever you, I could do whatever I wanted to do.
FW: Of course, you already had Tommy Dewey on board, as he was in the short. How did the casting of Melissa Barrera come about?
Lindy: She has already gained the reputation of being a genre actress. She’s done a lot of horror films and is amazing in what she’s done. Then she’s also done a lot of musical theater and grew up in that world. She was in In the Heights, has this beautiful voice, and is a dancer. What she hasn’t done is a lot of romantic comedies.
In order to attract someone like Melissa for a tiny little indie movie, you have to pitch her. And included in my pitch was the fact that I’ve never seen you in a role quite like this. I know you can do horror and musical theater, but have you ever wanted to do a romantic comedy? She was delighted by that and, I think, excited by the challenge.
Melissa said, “I haven’t done many roles like this before, and I would love to, and I think you’re playing at some of my strengths.” Then there’s a piece here that I really want to explore, and I want people to see, and I think I can do it. And so she read the script, and a day later, she was like, “I like, let’s do this together.” I was delighted.
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FW: Kayla, you wear two hats on this project. You play Mazie and are a producer on the film. Can you talk to me about working with Caroline to bring Your Monster to life?
Kayla Foster: I’m a lunatic but also very special, magical, and fun. Producing a film was such a huge challenge. You’re obviously drawn to a challenge, no matter what. This one was a big challenge with big swings. But, you know, we were two girls making a movie. We wanted to feel like people could see what we were capable of, and we wanted to do something really crazy.
So it was really special, but I think it being based on a true story and always coming back to Caroline’s truth and her pain and everything she was going through at the time, it was I felt like my job was to protect her and protect the vision of this. It was really fun to try to figure out how to mash up these genres and make it work.
FW: Edmund, Jacob is kind of the villain of the film. What was it like preparing for the multifaceted nature of this role?
Edmund Donovan: I agree with you as Jacob is a very good example of a fun villain. There’s a sort of cartoony quality to some of the sensibilities of the characters and the way that people are in the movie. I think Jacob’s one of those people, but then it shifts and becomes sort of dead serious at the same time. So it was really fun without giving too much away, but you might know that the scene I’m thinking of is like a very mustache-twirling kind of traditional villain moment. It was really fun.
