Even before she lost her Scream gig for speaking out against Israel’s actions in Palestine, Melissa Barrera had a career that wasn’t exactly typical Hollywood starlet stuff. Born in Mexico and trained on Mexican soaps, Barrera came to U.S. prominence with her leading role in the Broadway adaptation In the Heights in 2021, then took a leading role in the fifth Scream movie less than a year later. Another Scream followed, but so did Carmen, an oblique, dreamlike dance musical; then Abigail, a comic vampire thriller. Now, after an American career that has consisted almost exclusively of either horror or music, she’s merged the two with Your Monster, an unlikely blend of horror, musical, romance, drama, and comedy. After a limited theatrical release, it’s now streaming on Max, and well worth a look, whether you’re a fan of Barrera’s from Heights, Scream, or none of the above.

Why Watch Your Monster Tonight?

Spooky season may be long gone, but for some people, Valentine’s Day can be just as dark. Your Monster isn’t actually set on Valentine’s Day, but it’s a great choice for anyone not feeling especially mushy this February, with a story centering a broken heart: Laura (Melissa Barrera) is finishing up treatment for cancer, and while her prognosis looks promising, her life nonetheless turns to shambles when her longtime boyfriend Jacob (Edmund Donovan) breaks up with her – and takes their artistic collaborations with him. Soon Laura is only pausing her sobbing jags long enough to seethe about the stage musical Jacob workshopped with her, now going forward with another woman in the leading role (whose part she contributed heavily to). She does this from her childhood home, where she also gets reacquainted with an unexpected figure from her past: Monster (Tommy Dewey), who haunted her closet when she was a kid. At first, they’re unwilling roommates. Then, friends. Then… something more? At the same time, Laura gets herself pity-cast in Jacob’s musical – not in the lead, but as that character’s understudy, setting up potential behind-the-scenes shenanigans.

So yes, there’s a lot going on in Your Monster, and not all of these pieces – backstage musical, quippy enemies-to-lovers comedy, Beauty-and-the-Beast-style gothic romance – always fit together perfect. Sometimes the casual-absurdity jokes about the monster stuff don’t land with the expected punch, sometimes Laura’s fixation on Jacob and the play feels like an extended contrivance, and the cancer aspect seems to be there at least in part because it’s true to writer/director Caroline Lindy’s life, moreso than a truly coherent piece of the story. Lindy seems to be getting at an exploration of owning our worst fears and nightmares, whether by making peace with them or otherwise absorbing them into our grown-up lives. But it takes a while to fully cohere.

The unifying factor, however, is Barrera, going for broke. The movie’s tonal zig-zags may not always be smooth, but hers are, and that carries Your Monster a long way. She’s equally convincing as a scrappy rom-com heroine; a dark-hearted, anger-fueled figure of vengeance; and a young woman flabbergasted by what the world keeps taking from her, with unflagging charm throughout. Oh, and, as established, she can sing! Lindy’s movie isn’t quite a full-on musical, but it’s certainly the first to take advantage of Barrera’s musical-theater physicality at the same time as her sad-eyed-scream-queen vibes. Inside you there are two monsters, etc.

There’s also the matter of the ending, which I will not spoil here except to say that a movie that cross-pollinates genres with this much daring runs the risk of tumbling over in its final minutes (or at any time, really, but those last minutes are always bound to leave an impression). Whatever its other flaws, Your Monster doesn’t fall over. In fact, it features the rare finale that makes the rest of the movie’s more erratic qualities seem smoother and more purposeful in retrospect (even if that doesn’t change how janky some of them feel in the moment). It may not be a properly sentimental valentine, but for fans of Barrera, and genre-hopping entertainment, it’s an all-season treat.

Jesse Hassenger (@rockmarooned) is a writer living in Brooklyn. He’s a regular contributor to The A.V. Club, Polygon, and The Week, among others. He podcasts at www.sportsalcohol.com, too.

Stream Your Monster on Max