As fans count down to the premiere of Scream 7 next month, they are running out of time to watch a Scream star’s underrated horror film. From franchise leads Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette’s appearances in projects like The Craft, Friends, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Matthew Lillard’s starring roles in projects like Scooby-Doo and Five Nights at Freddy’s, the stars of the iconic slasher franchise have appeared in numerous other movies and TV shows over the years. In 2024, one of the stars of the recent Scream revival movies led a criminally underrated horror rom-com, and it’s about to leave HBO Max.
Following her leading role as Sam Carpenter in 2022’s Scream, Melissa Barrera starred as a soft-spoken actress who learns to find her voice again in Your Monster. The film has been streaming on HBO Max for several months now but is scheduled to exit the platform on January 23rd. Based on writer and director Caroline Lindy’s 2019 short film, the movie centers around Laura Franco, a young actress who returns to her childhood home amid her cancer diagnosis and after being dumped by her longtime boyfriend. When she discovers a monster in the closet, she finds an unexpected connection that allows her to follow her dreams, open her heart, and accept her inner rage.
Melissa Barrera’s Your Monster Is a Perfect Valentine’s Day Horror Movie
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Your Monster really couldn’t be leaving HBO Max at a worse time. Not only are we a month out from Scream 7, which unfortunately won’t see Barrera reprising her role as Sam, but it’s leaving the platform just weeks ahead of Valentine’s Day. The movie is a perfect Valentine’s horror film, as it blends whimsical romance with genuine horror and is just overall a pretty solid movie.
The movie plays out like a modern, quirky, and darkly comedic take on Beauty and the Beast that is grounded in Laura’s real-life struggles rather than a literal enchanted castle and where the “Beast” is a manifestation of her psychological state. The film taps into the comfort of classic rom-coms as Laura and the Monster forge a genuine connection and face themes of loss and self-acceptance but it roots all of that in actual horror. Not only is there a literal monster figure, which serves as a metaphor for Laura’s repressed rage and trauma, but Your Monster delivers genuine tension and fear with ominous scenes and occasional jump scares, a lingering threat, and some bloody violence.
Unfortunately, Your Monster has remained a pretty overlooked movie. An independent, low-budget production that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and received a limited theatrical release, the movie didn’t gain much traction. It did earn some solid reviews, though, and holds a “Certified Fresh” distinction on Rotten Tomatoes with a 79% critic score. Its audience rating sits even higher at 85%.
Where to Stream Your Monster After It Leaves HBO Max?
You’ll want to watch Your Monster while you still can. The movie is scheduled to leave HBO Max on January 23rd, and it currently isn’t included in a rival streamer’s lineup. The film also isn’t slated to move to a different platform this month, so the only way to watch Your Monster after its HBO Max exit will be either renting or buying it online. Given that Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, we wouldn’t be surprised to see it reappear on streaming in February, but nothing is guaranteed in the streaming era.
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