Sep 15, 20192 min read

Grimmfest 2019 Film Feature - Little Monsters

Runtime: 94 mins

Starring: #LupitaNyongo, #AlexanderEngland, #JoshGad, #KatStewart, #DieselLaTorraca

Grimmfest Feature by: Darren Tilby

Synopsis: Washed-up musician Dave volunteers to chaperone his nephew’s kindergarten class field trip after taking a serious liking to the fearless schoolteacher, Miss Caroline. Dave’s intentions are complicated by the presence of the world’s most famous kids’ show personality and competition for Miss Caroline’s affections, Teddy McGiggle. One thing none of them bargained for is a sudden zombie outbreak. Will Dave rise to the occasion and have a chance at Miss Caroline’s heart, or will the zombies get there first?

Grimmfest say: Well, who’d have expected this? The Oscar-winning star of 12 YEARS A SLAVE decapitating zombies with a bloody shovel… But as she showed in US, BLACK PANTHER, and various STAR WARS films, Lupita Nyong’o is nothing if not a trooper. And Abe Forsythe’s raucous, riotous, oddly good-hearted zom-com benefits enormously from that fact. Whether she be dispatching the shambling undead hordes, or murdering Taylor Swift songs on the ukulele, Nyong’o’s Miss Caroline is a force to be reckoned with; kind, gracious, fiercely protective of her charges, and the only chance any of them has of survival. Will feckless slacker Dave finally grow up enough to stand any kind of chance with her? Will Teddy McGiggle get what’s coming to him? Will the kids get to pet the cute little animals without being eaten? That would be telling. Why not join us and find out for yourselves?

What I'm Expecting: Well...this is a surprise. Beginning her career in Steve McQueen’s stunning 12 Years a Slave – in a role that would emotionally test even the most veteran of actresses – and fresh from a brilliant turn as Adelaide Wilson/Red in Jordan Peele’s incredible socio-cultural horror Us, Lupita Nyong’o is a force to be reckoned with. And if the news of her involvement in Abe Forsythe’s Australian-American-British zombie flick came as a surprise to many people, myself included, then the news that Little Monsters would be closing the Grimmfest film festival was like Christmas coming early. This is, without a doubt, one of my most eagerly anticipated horror-comedies of the year. And after the disappointment that was The Dead Don’t Die, I have really high hopes for this one. Little Monsters has a lot going for it: Australian-made horror films are awesome (that’s a proven fact), Josh Gad is a brilliant comic actor, and Lupita Nyong’o is one of the finest actresses working today—period! I’d like to see a film with not only the same dark humour on display in Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead but also with the same level of social commentary. I have all my digits crossed!