SXSW Review: Little Monsters

In the vein of other horror comedies such as Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead, Little Monsters aims to straddle that line between solid humor and genuine terror at the hands of the undead. Written and directed by Abe Forsythe, the film takes us on a trip populated by zombies and a group of survivors just trying to stay alive. Little Monsters leans into the comedy, providing many opportunities to laugh in what should be horrific circumstances.

When we first meet Dave (Alexander England) he’s in the midst of an awful break-up that forces him to move in with his sister (Kat Stewart) and her 5-year-old son Felix (Diesel La Torraca). A failed musician, Dave has few prospects and no direction. To summarize, he’s a mess. While dropping off his nephew one morning, he meets and instantly falls for Felix’s teacher, Miss Caroline (Lupita Nyong’o). In a bid to impress her, he volunteers to help chaperone a field trip to a petting zoo. Unfortunately the zoo happens to be next to a government facility that soon becomes the scene of escaping zombies.

Nyong’o shines as Miss Caroline, a delightful force that cares deeply for her students. In her bright yellow dress, strumming her ukulele she easily commands the attention of everyone around her. As the zombies storm the petting zoo, Miss Caroline trades her ukulele for a shovel that she expertly uses to dispatch zombies. Her only aim is to keep her students safe and unaware of the imminent danger they are in, leading to some funny moments as she tries to spin the zombie incursion into a game and the blood and guts she gets covered in into jam.

England excels at playing a character clearly out of his depth both in his method of courting Miss Caroline – which involves some truly awful singing – and dealing with the zombies. Josh Gad is another welcomed surprise. While the adults die around them, Miss Caroline and Dave are joined by the world’s most famous children performer, Teddy McGiggle (Gad). He quickly reveals he is the opposite of his on air persona. He’s a profanity spewing, self-centered, alcoholic jerk. Not exactly like Gad’s performance in Frozen or Beauty and the Beast. While McGiggle fails at being a helpful member of the group of survivors, his interactions with them provide endless amusement.

Through all of the laughs, Forsythe creates an environment where there is still a feeling of impending danger as the zombies close in on our group. These are classic zombies – slow, covered in blood and gore, and able to survive almost anything. A group of children are hardly a match for them and in a darker movie, they would be quick victims. That’s not Little Monsters. What it is, is a movie heavy with laughs and light on social commentary. It focuses on Dave’s personal journey. Will he be able to morph from being a man-child into a responsible adult? Will he rise to the occasion or become a hindrance to Miss Caroline and the children? To find out the answers and perhaps more Taylor Swift songs than necessary, check out Little Monsters.